Top 10 highest paid batsmen in IPL 2020

After the grand success of IPL 2020 in UAE, fans are now awaiting the IPL 2021 Auction. Earlier it was being reported that it would be a full-fledged auction for the 14th edition of the league next. However, it has now been confirmed that BCCI will hold only mini-auctions. But IPL 2022 will see mega auctions being held as two new teams will be joining the 15th edition of the premier league. As the fans await the fanfare of next year’s IPL, we take a look at the Top 10 highest paid batsmen in IPL 2020.

Top 10 highest paid batsmen of 2020 – Total IPL salary, IPL 2020 salary and salary rank:

10. Glenn Maxwell

IPL 2020 Salary – 10.75 Crore
IPL 2020 Team – Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)
Total IPL salary – ₹ 42,92,93,750
IPL Moneyball Rank – 29

KXIP broke the bank to sign the Australian batter Glenn Maxwell for a whopping 10.75 crores for IPL 2020 in UAE. The 31-year old looked like a complete package for the team with his renowned batting skills, smart bowling and sensational fielding skills.

Interestingly, UAE also hosted the first half of IPL 2014. Maxwell was a part of the Punjab based franchise then as well. He turned out to be one of the most successful batsmen in the edition by smashing 300 runs just in five matches. His score also included 3 fifties. Maxwell finished the tournament as the third highest run scorer (552 runs). While his team ended the season as runner ups- their best standing till date. Maxwell won the Most Valuable Player award in that IPL edition.

Although ‘The Big Show’ had a poor run in IPL 2020 after failing to score a single century, KXIP will be expecting his old magic to come in play in IPL 2021.

9. Hardik Pandya

IPL 2020 Salary – 11 Crore
IPL 2020 Team – Mumbai Indians (MI)
Total IPL salary – ₹ 333,000,000
IPL Moneyball Rank – 44

Indian all-rounder Hardik Pandya has played a pivotal role for Mumbai Indians since the time he debuted. The 26-year old is lethal with both bat and the ball. He has also played some match-winning innings for the Mumbai based franchise. In 2019, he scored 402 runs in 16 games at a brilliant strike rate of 191.42 for his team. He also picked up 14 wickets from 16 games.

Although Pandya didn’t bowl in IPL 2020 due to a back injury, his performances with the bat have been beyond incredible.

8. KL Rahul

IPL 2020 Salary – 11 Crore
IPL 2020 Team – Kings XI Punjab (KXIP)
Total IPL salary – ₹ 371,000,000
IPL Moneyball Rank – 37

KL Rahul has been with the team for a couple of years and has brought an aggressive flair to the Punjab based franchise. Rahul was made the captain of the team after former skipper R. Ashwin was traded to Delhi Capitals. His performance in the 2020 edition has been awe-striking. He finished the season as the highest run-scorer and broke the record of most runs scored by an Indian batsman in an IPL match with his unbeaten knock of 132 off 69 balls against RCB.

7. Manish Pandey

IPL 2020 Salary – 11 Crore
IPL 2020 Team – Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
Total IPL salary – ₹ 407,000,000
IPL Moneyball Rank – 32

Manish Pandey boasts of a rich repertoire of strokes up his sleeves. The Indian top order batsman can decimate any bowling line up with his deft strokeplay. Before joining Sunrisers Hyderabad, Pandey previously played for Kolkata Knight Riders and formed a fearsome top 3 consisting also of Gautam Gambhir and Robin Uthappa. He has certainly honed his craft from the best.

Pandey scored 425 runs from 16 matches in the 2020 edition of IPL.

6. AB de Villiers

IPL 2020 Salary – 11 Crore
IPL 2020 Team – Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
Total IPL salary – ₹ 915,165,000
IPL Moneyball Rank – 6

Former South Africa captain, AB De Villiers has been an ever-present force for RCB since many years. The 36-year old has proved that age is just a number with his incredible knocks. De Villiers has played some match-winning innings for the team. He is known for unleashing a brutal attack on the bowlers especially in the death overs.

His performance in IPL 2020 was just as brilliant as the fans expected. He hit 454 runs in 15 matches. He added explosiveness to the top order.

5. Steve Smith

IPL 2020 Salary – 12.5 Crore
IPL 2020 Team – Rajasthan Royals (RR)
Total IPL salary – ₹ 456,296,700
IPL Moneyball Rank – 27

Australian batter Steve Smith has been with Rajasthan Royals since 2018. He hasn’t had consistent spells with captaincy but in 29 matches as skipper he has had 65.5% success rate. The statistics are better than a host of other captains. Although Rajasthan Royals ended up last by the end of the tournament, Smith had some brilliant performances for his team and led from the front on more than one occasion.

4. David Warner

IPL 2020 Salary – 12.5 Crore
IPL 2020 Team – Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH)
Total IPL salary – ₹ 585,017,300
IPL Moneyball Rank – 16

Australian opener David Warner was reinstated as captain of Sunrisers Hyderabad this year. He has tasted success in the league before as well. The hard-hitting batter had a successful IPL 2016 season for the team. The franchise has qualified for the Play-offs each and every time ever since. In the 47 matches he has led the team, Warner has a win rate of 55.3%.

In 2020 as well, Sunrisers Hyderabad qualified for the Play-offs with Warner smashing 548 runs in 16 matches.

3. Rohit Sharma

IPL 2020 Salary – 15 Crore
IPL 2020 Team – Mumbai Indians (MI)
Total IPL salary – 1,316,000,000
IPL Moneyball Rank – 2

Indian opener Rohit Sharma is termed as the most successful captain in IPL with 4 titles to his name as the skipper of Mumbai Indians and 5 over all. In 104 matches he has had a success rate of 57.7%. The ‘Hitman’ was absent from play for a few matches this season due to a hamstring strain. However, the batter proved that he doesn’t win the title only in alternate years by giving MI a record breaking 5th IPL title and second consecutive one in 2020.

2. MS Dhoni

IPL 2020 Salary – 15 Crore
IPL 2020 Team – Chennai Super Kings (CSK)
Total IPL salary – 1,378,400,000
IPL Moneyball Rank – 1

Former India captain MS Dhoni has led his beloved Chennai Super Kings every time the team was included in the tournament. ‘Thala’ has won 3 IPL titles so far for the team. As far as statistics go, Dhoni has played 174 matches for CSK and has had a win rate of 59.8%. He also captained Rising Pune Supergiant in 2016 and 2017 while CSK was banned from the league. He took that franchise to the finals in 2017.

CSK had a shockingly poor performance in IPL 2020 by their standards. The team couldn’t qualify for the Play-offs for the first time in the history of IPL. It was on the second last position ahead of Rajasthan Royals in the 2020 edition. However, CSK and Dhoni will be eager to bounce back from the 2020 debacle and show their old spirit in the 2021 season.

1. Virat Kohli

IPL 2020 Salary – 17 Crore
IPL 2020 Team – Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB)
Total IPL salary – 1,262,000,000
IPL Moneyball Rank – 3

India captain Virat Kohli has tasted success more than just a few times for his country. However the fiery batsman hasn’t been able to emulate a similar success for RCB. The franchise has criminally unperformed in the past few editions of IPL. However, in 2020 despite losing the last 4 matches, the team managed to qualify for the Play-offs thanks to their net run rate. RCB landed 4th in the ranking table by the end of the season.

RCB fans all around the country will be hoping for the team to finally lift the IPL trophy in 2021. Expectations on Virat Kohli to lead RCB to victory will be huge as it is with every season.

Also Read: 5 players SRH might eye in IPL auction to replace doubtful Bhuvneshwar Kumar