Who is The Richest Cricketer In The World?

 Indian skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni has topped the list of world's 10 top earning cricketers compiled by Forbes, which also features four other players from the sub-continent - Sachin Tendulkar, Yuvraj Singh, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly.

 Raking in USD 10 million, Dhoni is at the top of the chart followed by Tendulkar at the second spot with earnings worth USD 8 million in the list of 'The World's Top-Earning Cricketers'.



While Singh and Dravid are at the third and fourth spot, respectively, Ganguly and Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting share the sixth place.

"Paycheck figures include club and national team salaries and commercial endorsement income over the last 12 months," Forbes said.

According to the magazine, Singh earned USD 5.5 million while Dravid and Ganguly raked in USD 5 million and USD 3.5 million, respectively. Ponting also earned USD 3.5 million.

"With its deep-pocketed owners and global appeal, nine of the 10 highest-paid cricket players call the Indian Premier League (IPL) home, the publication added.

At the fifth spot is England's Andrew Flintoff with earnings of USD 4 million followed by Australia's Brett Lee and English cricketer Kevin Pietersen - both at eighth place - and Australian Michael Clarke is ranked tenth.

While Lee and Pietersen raked in USD 3 million each, Clarke earned USD 2.5 million.

"Take Mahendra Singh Dhoni, who plays for the Chennai Super Kings and tops our list as cricket's first USD 10 million-a-year man (that's USD 5,426 for each run scored).

"His USD 8 million in endorsements, from the likes of Reebok, General Electric and Pepsi, is 45 per cent more than any other player.

"Among all Indian athletes and entertainers, Dhoni's 17 corporate sponsors is second to only Bollywood star and co- owner of the Knight Riders, Shah Rukh Khan," Forbes said.

About Tendulkar, the magazine said the holder of numerous offensive records, is considered among the greatest batsman in cricket history.

"... he's one of five IPL players who have been bestowed 'icon' status, meaning he automatically receives a paycheck 15 per cent larger than his highest paid teammate.

"Tendulkar's USD 1.1 million salary from the Mumbai Indians helped push his total earnings to USD 8 million over the last 12 months," it added.

India vs South Africa Durban 1st ODI Live Score and Commentary Online on 12 Jan 2011

India takes on South Africa in a five-match one-day international cricket series starting on Wednesday, 12 January 2011. The IND vs SA 1st ODI cricket match will be played on Sahara Stadium Kingsmead, Durban. The match is a Day/Night affair. The game begins at 6 pm, IST.

In 3 test matches both team have equally draw the series by 1-1 and now its time to defeat in one day series. With the World Cup just around the corner, India will look forward to improve rankings as a win in the five-match series against South Africa could help Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s men become the number one ODI team.

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, said, “Every one of us in the Indian dressing room wants to lift that cup, not only for ourselves but also for the billions of fans supporting us around the globe.”

Virender Sehwag, Gautam Gambhir and Praveen Kumar, who are not playing in the current series because of injury.

This match will be Graeme Smith’s last chance to lead a winning team in an International Cricket Council event as he will be giving up the one-day captaincy after the World Cup.

India vs South Africa Durban 1st ODI Live

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Dhoni eager to win 2011 World Cup under his captaincy

With the Twenty20 title already in his kitty, India skipper Mahendra Singh Dhoni on Saturday said he wants to lift the upcoming ICC World Cup in the sub-continent as the coveted trophy is the ultimate dream of every cricketer.

Dhoni, under whose leadership India won the inaugural Twenty20 World Cup in 2007, said his burning desire is to see India capture the trophy for its fans."Every one of us in the India dressing room wants to lift that cup, not only for ourselves, but also for the billions of fans we have around the globe. It is not a surprise to me as it doesn't get any bigger than the World Cup.

"It is the ultimate dream of every cricketer to represent his country in this competition and win the trophy at least once in his career. It will require a lot of hard work, self belief and also a positive approach which Team India is capable of displaying at the highest level," Dhoni said during a promotional ICC event here to mark the 50-day countdown celebrations of the mega-event starting next month.

With little more than a month to go for the tournament, Dhoni said he can feel the buzz around him."With just 50 days remaining before we launch our campaign to win the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011, I can clearly feel and sense the tremendous excitement which is gripping the cricket fraternity," he said.

Commenting on his side's preparations for the World Cup, the wicket-keeper batsman said: "I'm happy with our preparations so far as we have gelled well, we have backed each other all the way and have played some excellent cricket lately.

"But we are also aware that we need to peak at the right time and maintain a winning momentum as the competition will be tough and every team will enter the event fancying its chances.""Each team and match will bring a fresh challenge and we will have to play to our potential every time we take the field," he added.

The charismatic India captain urged the spectators to play their part in making the event the most successful ever."I also take this opportunity to urge the India public and spectators to support the tournament and all the teams taking part in it. I would love to see every stadium packed to capacity even when we are not playing," Dhoni said.

"With billions of eyes following the World Cup on television, this would be another great opportunity for us to showcase our love and passion for this great sport. Let us all unite and make the ICC Cricket World Cup 2011 in the subcontinent the best ever," he added.The tournament begins in Mirpur, Dhaka, on February 19 with the India taking on co-hosts Bangladesh in the opener.

During the event at the picturesque and world famous V&A Waterfront this evening, the World Cup trophy was put on display and an official promotional film was revealed to celebrate the arrival of the game's flagship event.Among others present at the occassion were ICC chief executive Haroon Lorgat, South Africa captain Graeme Smith and Western Cape Premier Helen Zille.

South Africa captain Graeme Smith, whose side opens its campaign against two-time champions West Indies in New Delhi on February 24, said: "I can't believe that the World Cup is only 50 days away! The spectacular way that 50 days to the World Cup was marked is a pointer to the magnitude of the event."

"As a unit, we are looking to make sure we head into the showpiece with the best preparation possible. The five-match ODI series against India starting on January 12 will be our last chance to make sure we are fully prepared and we hope to bring home the silverware," Smith said.

ICC chief Lorgat said he was delighted to see the interest and excitement amongst the players and followers of the game for the tournament."With 50 days to go before cricket's flagship event starts, key players are starting to think and talk a lot more about the World Cup. The players will soon start with their World Cup focus and preparation and the related anticipation across the world will escalate with each passing day," Lorgat said.

Lorgat also urged all the three host countries - India, Sri Lanka Bangladesh - to step up their preparations and complete all the infrastructure work in time to successfully stage a world-class event."We must do our utmost to complete all the necessary work to deliver another memorable event," he added.

Lorgat also thanked the host countries and ICC's commercial partners for their excellent work to date.

Dhoni's coach wants him to win WC

New Delhi: Mahendra Singh Dhoni has led the Indian team to Twenty20 World Cup victory and to number one position in ICC Test rankings but the man who taught him cricket wants more from the Indian captain.


"Dhoni has achieved many laurels for the country but I want him to win ODI World Cup next year in front of the countrymen. That will make him an accomplished captain. And he will become the best ever captain in all format of the game," Keshav Ranjan Banerjee, the coach from DAV school Ranchi told PTI Bhasha.














Incidentally, Banerjee was the one who inspired Dhoni to be a cricketer.

Dhoni initially used to play badminton and football. He was the goalkeeper for DAV school's football team. But after seeing his goalkeeping skills, Banerjee picked him to play cricket for his school team.

"If Dhoni managed to win the World Cup next year, all my dreams will be fulfilled. India had been waiting for this moment for 27 years and this team is capable of winning the trophy," he said.

Banerjee also feels that under Dhoni's captaincy India can register first ever Test series victory in South Africa.

"Indian players have enough experience of playing on South African soil. I am sure we will win first ever Test series under Dhoni's captaincy there. It will also boost our morale prior to the World Cup," said the veteran coach.

According to him the biggest qualities of Dhoni are his ice-cool temperament and down to earth attitude.

"He has been very cool since the childhood and that makes him a good leader. He believes in team spirit and never set any individual goals. He has become the biggest brand of Indian cricket but remains the same. He has not changed a bit, which is really commendable," Banerjee added.

He also revealed that Dhoni never forgets to send prizes to best athletes in his school.

"He made it a point to sent 6?7 track suits each year, which are being given to the students who excel in sports, at the annual function.

"We never had to remind him about it. This has become a tradition now," said Banerjee.

The coach added that Dhoni did not achieve the stardom and success by luck only but has actually worked very hard for it.

"He was a footballer initially but I thought that he can be a good cricketer. Frankly, I had never imagined him to be here. It is his dedication and hard work which paid off. He was a good wicketkeeper and when he started taking interest in cricket, he worked hard on his batting as well to get selected in Indian team.

"His father wanted him to excel in studies also. So he always used to give Dhoni instructions of getting good marks if he wanted to continue playing. And he always got good marks and also achieved accolades on the field," said Banerjee.

Banerjee said that although he might have his name attached with bollywood actresses but he was never distracted by girls.

"Never. He was content playing cricket and hanging out with friends. Our school was co-ed but we never saw him talking with any girl."