Cricket vs Football, Virat Kohli vs Sunil Chhetri: Do Other Sports Take A Backseat In Terms Of Pay In Front Of Cricket?

The Indian Cricket Team recently in a dominant campaign won the ICC Champions Trophy undefeated to make it their second ICC trophy in a span of ten months. The Indian Cricket Team led by Rohit Sharma, played their matches in Dubai due to security concerns in travelling to Pakistan. India faced off against Australia in the semi-finals and New Zealand in the finals. In the semi-finals India's batting star Virat Kohli once again performed for the country as his knock of 84 helped India defeat the Aussies. 

Following India winning the ICC Champions Trophy, the BCCI announced a massive cash prize of Rs. 58 Crores for the winning contingent. As the Indian cricket team members are set to earn massive amounts of money as a cash prize, it raises the question whether other sports take a backseat in front of cricket when player pay is the matter at hand. 

Pay Comparisons Between Virat Kohli And Sunil Chhetri 

With questions arising whether cricket is always given an edge over other sports in terms of importance and player pay, here is a comparison between Sunil Chhetri and Virat Kohli, two of India's biggest sportspersons in their respective fields. 

Virat Kohli's Annual Earning, Net Worth And Total Assets 

Virat Kohli is quite easily the most famous and one of the highest paid cricketers in India. According to various sources here are the various details about the star batter- 

• Virat Kohli as a part of his BCCI contract earns Rs. 7 crores annually. As of 2025, Kohli will also be earning 21 crores from his IPL franchise RCB. 
• Virat Kohli earns a significant amount of money from his match fees. He is paid 15 lakhs for test matches, 6 lakhs for ODIs and used to get 3 lakhs for T20Is. 
• Virat Kohli charges between 7-10 crores from endorsements and thus his annual earning from endorsements crosses the Rs. 200 crore mark.  
• Virat Kohli also owns several business ventures which add to his already massive wealth. 
• As of 2024, Virat Kohli's net worth stood at Rs. 1050 Crores. 

Sunil Chhetri's Annual Earnings, Net Worth And Total Assets

Here are the various details regarding Indian football star and captain Sunil Chhetri- 

• Sunil Chhetri earns a monthly salary of 8 lakhs and his annual compensation comes out to be around of Rs. 90 lakhs for representing India. 
• Sunil Chhetri who represents Bengaluru FC in the ISL, has a contract which gives him 1.5 Crores every year. 
• According to sources, Sunil Chhetri's entire wealth comes out to be 5 crores. 
• Sunil Chhetri also holds properties worth 3 crores. 
• Sunil Chhetri's entire net worth stands at Rs. 8 Crores. 

This comparison shows the stark reality of sports in India. Two sportspeople at the top of their game but have so much disparity in their net worth's. This proves a certain point that cricket is given preference over other sports in India and sportspeople who play sports other than cricket are massively underpaid as compared to cricketers. 

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