Not Kohli, Root is best paid cricket captain

Cricket superstar Virat Kohli was the only Indian in Forbes' list of the world's highest-paid athletes with total earnings of $26 million in 2020.

In terms of cricketing riches, Kohli is not the highest-paid international captain.

England's Test skipper Joe Root draws more salary than his Indian counterpart. Kohli features second on the list of highest-paid international cricket captains.

Kohli has a Grade A+ contract with the BCCI, which pays him Rs 7 crore (Rs 70 million) in annual salary.

Root earns £ 700,000 annually (Rs 7.22 crore/Rs 72.2 million) in salary from the England and Wales Cricket Board.

England pacer Jofra Archer receives more pay for playing for his country than the Indian skipper.

Australian Test skipper Tim Paine receives over Rs 5 crore (Rs 50 million) in annual salary from Cricket Australia.

Pakistan skipper Babar Azam and his Sri Lankan counterpart Dimuth Karunaratne make less money than other captains amongst the top-eight Test-playing nations. The Pakistan Cricket Board pays Azam Rs 6.2 million while the Sri Lankan board pays Karunaratne Rs 5.1 million.

Of course, Kohli earns more from brand endorsements and IPL appearances than he does playing for India. Kohli reportedly draws a Rs 17 crore (Rs 170 million) from his IPL contract with Royal Challengers Bangalore.