1. MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI - $22.8 million.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni was born on 7th July, 1981 in Ranchi, India. Dhoni was keenly interested in badminton and football. He went on to play football at district and state level. However, after the insistence of his football coach, Dhoni took up cricket. He performed wicket keeping exceptionally well and went on to play for a local cricket club from 1995-1998. In 1997/1998, he played for the Under-16 Championship and this is where he came under the selector's eye. He was consequently chosen to play for Bihar U-19 squad.
In 2004, Mahendra Singh Dhoni debuted in One Day International matches (ODI) against Bangladesh, but was out for a duck. However, a year after his debut ODI match, he scored 183 off 145 balls, taking India to victory. He also won the 'Man of the Series' award for top scoring in the tournament with 346 runs.
Dhoni is also the captain of the Indian cricket team. However, in December 2014, he astounded many by announcing his retirement from test cricket to concentrate on the shorter forms of the game.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is also the captain of the IPL team, Chennai Super Kings and has also won the IPL twice, in 2010 and 2011.
Dhoni has won several awards, including the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 2007, the Padma Shri in 2009 and ICC ODI Player of the Year award in 2008 and 2009.
2. SACHIN TENDULKAR - $9.6 million.
Sachin Tendulkar (Sachin Ramesh Tendulkar) is probably one of the most celebrated cricketers of all times. He was born on 24th April 1974. He joined the Indian team at the age of 16, becoming India's youngest Test cricketer.
Tendulkar has achieved many milestones in his cricketing career. He has set trends and broken records in cricket.
At 23, Tendulkar was named the captain of the Indian team for the 1996 world cup tournament. He resigned in 1997 and became the captain again in 1999. He later resigned in 1999 as well, as he was unsuccessful as a captain.
Sachin Tendulkar holds the world record for scoring highest number of runs and centuries in both the Test Cricket and the One Day Internationals. He has scored 15921 runs and 51 centuries in Test Cricket. While in ODIs, he has scored 18,426 runs and 49 centuries.
Sachin Tendulkar retired from international cricket in 2013. His last match was his 200th Test match against West Indies in Mumbai. Tendulkar was emotional and gave a heartfelt speech, thanking everyone who supported him during his 24 years of cricket career. After his retirement, he released his autobiography in 2014 named, Playing it My Way.
Some of Tendulkar's achievements include the Rajiv Gandhi Khel Ratna in 1997, the Padma Shri in 1999, the Padma Vibhushan in 2008 and the Bharat Ratna in 2013.
3. VIRAT KOHLI - $9.4 million.
Virat Kohli is much more than Anushka Sharma's boyfriend. In recent time, his relationship with the Bollywood starlet has come under the scrutiny of many, especially the media. Many have even gone a step ahead and blamed his girlfriend for his bad performances, forgetting his hard-hitting and exceptional performances during other matches.
Virat Kohli was born on 5th November 1988, in Delhi. In his initial years when he led India's U-19 team to the World Cup triumph, Virat Kohli was known to be an extreme brat. He was brash, volatile and extremely talented.
Kohli has played for some major cricket teams, such as for India, Delhi, India red, India Under-19s and Royal Challengers Bangalore.
Some of Kohli's achievements are the Arjuna Award for Cricket in 2013, People's Choice Awards India for Favourite Sports Person in 2012 and ODI Player of the Year in 2012.
4. Shikhar Dhawan - $3.33 million.
This top-order batsman was born on 5th December 1985, in Delhi.
The major teams Dhawan has played for are India, Deccan Chargers, Delhi, Delhi Daredevils, Delhi Under-16s, India A, Mumbai Indians and Sunrisers Hyderabad.
Dhawan played in the 2004 Under-19 Cricket World Cup where he was the leading run scorer. His total of 505 runs from seven innings is a record for a single U-19 World Cup.
Some of Shikhar Dhawan's achievements include winning the ICC Under-19 World Cup (2003/4) and the ICC Champions Trophy (2013).
5. Rohit Sharma - $3.15 million.
Rohit Sharma (Rohit Gurunath Sharma) was born on 30th April 1987, in Nagpur.
This right-hand batsman is known for his talented batting style. However, the early six years of his international career, Sharma had faced plenty of failures.
In 2013, things started to shape up for Rohit Sharma. Sharma was promoted to open the innings in One Day International matches. This turned out to be a triumphant choice as Sharma found form in the Champions Trophy. He then went on to play charismatically in the ODI series against Australia, scoring two centuries, including 209, only the third double in ODI cricket.
In 2014, Rohit Sharma became the first batsman to hit two ODI double-hundreds in an innings. He broke the record for the highest score with 264 off 173 against Sri Lanka.
The major teams Sharma has played for are Mumbai U-19s, India U-19s, India, Deccan Chargers, India A, India Green, Mumbai, Mumbai Cricket Association President's XI and Mumbai Indians.
Sharma has had many achievements, including the BCCI awards in 2012-14 for slamming a world record 264 in the fourth ODI against Sri Lanka.
6. Suresh Raina - $2.82 million.
Suresh Raina: the attacking left-hander batsman was born on 27th November 1986, in Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh.
Raina made his Test debut in the Sri Lanka as a replacement for an injured teammate, Yuvraj Singh, who, similar to Raina, was a left-hander and India's most athletic fielder in the early 2000s.
Raina is an asset to the IPL and he is a player every franchise wants on their side. He also had an outstanding 2014 Champions League T20, where he scored a scintillating hundred in the final to help Chennai Super Kings win the title for the second time.
The major teams Suresh Raina has played for are India, Chennai Super Kings, India Blue, India Under-19s, Indian Board President's XI, Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI, Uttar Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh Under-16s.
Some of his awards include the Bradman Twenty20 Cup (2005/06), NKP Salve Challenger Trophy (2007/08) and the Champions League (2014/15).
7. Yuvraj Singh - $2.81 million.
Yuvraj Singh was born on 12th December 1981. He is the son of the former Indian fast bowler and Punjabi movie star, Yograj Singh.
Yuvraj Singh is known for his powerful batting and his slow left arm orthodox bowling. One of the most memorable and remarkable matches associated with Yuvraj Singh is the T20 match against England in 2007. He made 6 sixes in 6 balls, astounding everyone, especially the English opponents. India ultimately won the 2007 T20 world cup against Pakistan.
Yuvraj Singh was more into roller skating as a child, but he was made to divert his attention to cricket by his father.
After an astounding victory in the 2011 world cup, Yuvraj Singh was diagnosed with cancer. There was a cancerous tumour in his left lung. He was treated and underwent chemotherapy at the Cancer Research Institute in Boston, USA. After a third and final cycle of chemotherapy, he was free of cancer and returned home in April 2012.
He released a book based on his battle with cancer in 2013, called The Test of My Life.
Yuvraj Singh makes most of his earnings through the Indian Premier League (IPL). He previously played for Kings XI Punjab (a team co-owned by the Bollywood actress, Preity Zinta), Pune Warriors India and Royal Challengers Bangalore. For the 2015 IPL, Yuvraj Singh has been signed by the Delhi Daredevils.
Some of Yuvraj Singh's achievements include the Arjuna Award in 2012, the Padma Shri in 2014 and the CNN-IBN Indian of the Year Special Achievement Award in 2011.
8. Gautam Gambhir - $2.5 million.
This left-handed batsman and right-arm leg break bowler was born in 14th October 1981, in Delhi.
Gautam Gambhir came into the spotlight after his consecutive double hundreds in 2002, before making his ODI debut against Bangladesh in 2003.
He made his Test debut in 2004 against Australia. However he was unable to match his domestic success in the international arena.
2008 was probably Gautam Gabhir's remarkable year. He went on scoring and affirming his position in Test matches. However, he was involved in a controversy when he elbowed Shane Watson while taking a run. Gambhir pleaded guilty in the hearing and was banned for one Test match. He returned to score assembling 1134 runs from just 8 tests in 2008.
The major teams Gambhir has played for are India, Delhi, Delhi Daredevils, Essex, India Red, Indian Board President's XI, Kolkata Knight Riders and Rajasthan Cricket Association President's XI.
9. Ravindra Jadeja - $2 million.
Born on 6th December 1988, in Saurashtra, Ravindra Jadeja (Ravindrasinh Anirudhsinh Jadeja) is a left-hand batsman.
Jadeja made his mark in India's 2006 and 2008 Under-19 World Cups. He was included in the senior side in 2009 due to his remarkable performances in his previous domestic season, with over 700 runs and 42 wickets.
Ravindra Jadeja became a regular in India's limited overs side with accurate bowling and fielding. In 2012, Jadeja achieved a record of being the eighth batsmen to score three triple tons.
The major teams Jadeja has played for are India, Chennai Super Kings, Rajasthan Royals and Kochi Tuskers Kerala.
In 2013, Ravindra Jadeja was awarded with the Golden Ball. He was declared the man of the match of the ICC Champions Trophy final against England. He also picked the most number of wickets (12) in the tournament.
10. Ajinkya Rahane - $1.52 million.
Ajinkya Rahane (Ajinkya Madhukar Rahane) was born on 6th June 1988, in Maharashtra. He is a right-hand batsman and a right-arm medium bowler.
Rahane is one of the only 11 players to have scored more than 1000 runs in a single Ranji trophy season.
Rahane made his T20 debut in 2011 against England. He made 61 runs on his debut. In the very next match, he debuted in ODI, again against England.
The major teams Ajinkya Rahane has played for are India, Rajasthan Royals and Mumbai Indians.
Ajinkya Rahane has won Player of the Match Awards for ODI in 2011 against England and 2014 against Bangladesh, England and Sri Lanka.
