Rs 230 crore in 18 IPL seasons: Kohli, Dhoni and Rohit's earnings revealed; KKR win valuation race

Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni, and Rohit Sharma are three of the greatest icons in Indian cricket history. They are also the three biggest stars of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Dhoni led Chennai Super Kings to five IPL titles and so did Rohit Sharma with Mumbai Indians. While Kohli could not win an IPL trophy as captain, there is hardly any batting record in the league that is not in his name. These three are also the most popular stars currently in Indian cricket.

While the trio combined to take Indian cricket to great heights, their fans could not quite get along. Now another new data point has come up which has once again sparked fan frenzy.

Kohli leads earning charts but RCB does not

According to the Fanatic Sports Hurun India’s Most Valuable Sports Teams 2026 report, Virat Kohli has emerged as the highest earner in IPL history. The Royal Challengers Bengaluru stalwart has accumulated a staggering ₹230.2 crore over 18 seasons. Rohit Sharma follows closely in second place with ₹227.2 crore from his long association with Mumbai Indians, while MS Dhoni ranks third with ₹200.3 crore earned primarily with Chennai Super Kings.

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While there is a marginal difference between Rohit and Kohli, Dhoni is a little more away from the duo. This is likely due to him playing as an uncapped player for the past few years at a very minimal salary.

Among women cricketers, Smriti Mandhana is the highest earner with cumulative earnings at Rs 13.7 crore till now from the Women's Premier League. The top-10 women players have earned just Rs 90 crore till now.

The report also notes the soaring franchise valuations. The total value of all 10 IPL teams stands at approximately ₹1.63 lakh crore (around USD 18 billion).

Surprisingly, Kolkata Knight Riders lead the valuation charts at ₹19,200 crore, followed closely by Mumbai Indians and Chennai Super Kings (both around ₹18,400 crore). The average valuation of an IPL team is projected to jump to USD 15 billion by 2032 from the present USD 1.8 billion which is close to what RCB earned recently. RR were sold at a lower price of USD 1.6 billion.