The Indian Premiere League is no doubt a cash rich tournament. As Kevin Peterson said what a cricket player earns in the IPL in a short span of 6 weeks is more than what he earns in a county match in England in a span of six months. No wonder the IPL Twenty Twenty tournament has worldwide attraction and lured away players from across the continents, even at the risk of loosing their own place in their respective national teams.
We are aware that the IPL has recruited cricket players from all over the world by open bidding system in Mumbai, that was hitherto unheard of
The Australian sppedster Brett Lee was bought for a whopping $ 900,000 at auction by the Punjab XI. and Ricky Ponting went for a relatively modest $ 400,000 to the Kolkata Knight Riders at the auction in February, 2008.
Now the paceman Brett Lee returned home as the richest Australain cricketor, taking home a huge $ 80,000 per scalp for his four wickets from as many games he played in the cash rich Indian Premiere league. For his brief stint with the Punjab XI in the IPL, Brett Lee has earned more than $ 320,000.
Captain Ricky Ponting, has emerged as the highest paid Australian batsman when his earnings are worked out on a rupee-per-run scored basis.Ponting earned $ 3663 for every run, or $ 142,000 for the four games he played. Ricky Ponting who made two golden ducks and scored just 39 runs for the tournament, admitted he would have liked to have scored more runs and his impact wasn’t that great, according to the Australian.
Lee and Ponting were among the six players who returned to Australia to prepare for the Caribbean Tour, where they will earn almost $ 13,000 a test and $ 5,000, a one day international.
Do we require any other proof to show that IPL is cash rich and a treasure house for cricketers ?