Shocking! Sarfraz Ahmed, Mohammad Amir are paid less than Irish cricketers by the board

Sarfraz Ahmed-led Pakistan to their famous win over India in the Champions Trophy 2017 final while Ireland are currently struggling in international cricket

By: Arun Rawal |
October 28, 2017 2:26 pm

Pakistan cricket team are currently rising in their stature. They are through their transitional phase and have started making progress in all forms of cricket. First, they won the ICC Champions Trophy 2017 by stunning India in the final. They were able to beat Sri Lanka in the recently concluded Test series followed by ODI series and now have sealed the T20I series as Well. Sarfraz Ahmed-led Pakistan are currently ranked second in ICC T20I rankings but still there are huge disparities in players’ salary compared to that of other cricketers. The difference is upto an extent that they do not even make more than the Irish cricketers, let alone the remunerations of the likes of sportsperson like Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, Steven Smith, Joe Root and others.

According to ESPNCricinfo’s report, even Virat Kohli is not the top earner when it comes to remuneration from the board, in this case Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI). Australian skipper is the top earner with an income of $1.469 million from Cricket Australia. He is followed by England skipper Joe Root who earns $1.38 million from England Cricket Board (ECB). Kohli is the third on the list with $1 million from BCCI.

The wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz’s income from Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) is not anywhere near to what his counterparts make. He is the sixth on the list with $300,000 in the current year. South African skipper Faf du Plessis earns $4,40,00 from Cricket South Africa whereas former Sri Lankan skipper makes $3,20,000 from Sri Lanka Cricket.

Also, according to the report, Pakistan’s top-brass cricketers’ contract has a grade pay of $74,014 per year which is less than what Irish cricketers make. Irish cricketers get $75,000 per year as salaries from Cricket Ireland. It is to be noted that Ireland recently got their Test status and are at the bottom of the table in ODI and T20I rankings. Still they are paid more than Pakistan cricketers by their respective board.

In a stark comparison, the Australian team players are paid 1,600 per cent more than Pakistan cricketers. Only Zimbabwe Cricket and Bangladesh Cricket Board pay less salaries to their players compared to Pakistan Cricket Board.

Note: The above statistics include earnings from the board, excluding the income from brand endorsements or contracts from various leagues across the globe.