Indian cricket’s Big Two – Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar – are the world’s highest earning cricketers, in a list compiled by Forbes magazine.
Six Indians and four Australians make up the Top 10 list.
According to Forbes , Dhoni has earnings of USD26.5m, only a small portion of that payout, about $3.5 million, coming directly from Dhoni’s on-field play.
As India captain he earns $500,000 a year from national duty.
Another $3m he makes for turning out for IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings.
The rest of the $23m he took home last year came from nearly 25 endorsements, including PepsiCo, Reebok and Sony.
Master blaster Tendulkar took home $18.6m, according to Forbes.
Tendulkar currently has 16 sponsors, including adidas, Coca-Cola, Castrol and Toshiba, and they paid a total $16.5 million for his services.
Other cricketers in the Forbes list are Gautam Gambhir ($7.3m), Virat Kohli ($7.1m), Virender Sehwag ($6.9m), plus Australia’s Shane Watson ($5.9m), Michael Clarke ($4.9m), Brett Lee ($4.8m) and Ricky Ponting ($4.1m.).
