Irish players receive higher basic salaries than Sarfraz Ahmed and Mohammad Amir

Australian captain Steve Smith is the highest paid cricketer this year with $1.4 million.

With the advent of T20 format, the game of cricket has witnessed huge downpour of wealth and monetary aspects. On one hand, we have the likes of Virat Kohli and MS Dhoni soaring upwards in the Forbes’ list of most paid athletes while on the other hand, we have the likes of Sarfraz Ahmed and Mohammad Amir being paid lesser salaries than even the Irish players.

In a startling revelation made by a top sporting website, it is learnt that the basic salaries of the Irish cricketers are marginally above the remuneration received by the Pakistani players. According to reports, Australian captain Steve Smith is the highest paid cricketer this year with $1.4 million.

Next in line is the golden boy of English cricket, Joe Root who earned around $1.38 million. The third on the list is India’s skipper Virat Kohli who received around $1 million this year.

Pakistan’s spirited cricketer Sarfraz Ahmed is the sixth in the list with an earning of a mere $300,000 this year. Even South Africa’s skipper Faf du Plessis ($440,000) and former Sri Lankan captain who gave up his position after the humilitating loss to Zimbabwe, Angelo Matthews ($320,000) earned more than the Pakistani captain.

Pakistan’s top-tier contract grade pays less than that of Ireland’s

That said, these numbers provided by Espncricinfo do not include the sum received by the players taking part in the various domestic T20 league, domestic commitments and brand endorsement. These are the wages received by the players by their respective boards in the form of match fee and contractual retainers.

If reports are to be believed in, the most shocking statistic is that the Pakistan’s top-tier contract ($74,014) grade pays less than that of Ireland’s ($75,000). Furthermore, only players from Zimbabwe and Bangladesh have a lower basic rate for their players when compared with Pakistani cricketers. As a matter of fact, Australia pays its players 1,600% more than what the Pakistan Cricket Board does.