As the cash-machine that is the IPL doled out yet more riches in Abu Dhabi on Tuesday, at various points of cricket’s globe players were becoming instant millionaires.
Or, in the case of Cameron Green, heaping yet more wealth on the spoils India’s magic money tree has already afforded him.
In fact, the Australian all-rounder will not see all of the $2.8 million that Kolkata Knight Riders bid to secure his services for the 2026 season.
The league’s organisers have capped the amount overseas players can earn at the rupee equivalent at around $2m, with the excess being reinvested in player development. Still, though. He should survive.
While the IPL auction was playing out at Etihad Arena, Junaid Siddique was sat back in Sharjah, nursing a hand injury.
The UAE fast-bowler split the webbing in his hand last time out for Sharjah Warriorz in the DP World International League T20.
He hopes to be fit again within around a week, so he can get back to repaying the faith the franchise had shown in him ahead of this season in the Emirates.
Sharjah paid $170,000 to secure him during the ILT20’s first auction earlier this year. Clearly, that is a mere fraction of the extraordinary figures that are dropped in the IPL. However, it is still life-changing for Junaid.
Since the advent of the IPL 17 years ago, T20 has improved the bank balances of its leading proponents and has changed the landscape of the sport.
The leagues which imitate the Indian behemoth do a fair job of enhancing the wealth of the players they employ, too. Cricketers have never had such vast earning potential before.
And yet how do players who have little to no experience of dealing with such amounts of money, or much financial acumen, deal with dizzying salaries for one-off gigs?
Junaid’s change in circumstances was stark. He suddenly joined the in-crowd at age 32. The $170,000 for a month’s work in the ILT20 is around eight times his annual salary.
He earns a basic monthly wage of Dh8,000 to play for the UAE. When he first moved to Dubai with not much more than a few rupees in his pocket from Pakistan, he picked up odd jobs wherever he could. One was packing bags in a grocery store.
But he is not likely to splurge his new wealth on anything lavish. Instead, he says he wants to ensure his young family – his son, Yahya, is four, and his daughter, Azwa, is two – do not have to struggle like he did.
“I’m thinking very simple,” Junaid said. “I have to buy a good house for my family and make some investments for my kids’ study and health.
“First, I want to make a good dream house. I want to make my family’s life easy, not like the way I struggled.”
The bids fetched by Junaid, as well as his young UAE bowling partner, Mohammad Rohid – who made $140,000 at the ILT20 auction – opened the eyes of UAE players to the possibilities of the auction process. Yet there is always the risk of being left unsold and without a gig at all.
“For me, beside money, the commitment is the key for a player, especially when you're playing at a professional level,” said Khuzaima Tanveer, the Desert Vipers fast-bowler.
“They [Junaid and Rohid] are getting good money, but the Desert Vipers retained me. If I’d been going in the auction, I don't know if anybody is going to pick me or not.”
Khuzaima is still the best part of a year away from being eligible to represent the UAE at international level. Yet he has already made a name for himself in the ILT20, for which he credits the support of his franchise.
“I'm playing this year as a retained player, so it was a confirmed contract for me,” Khuzaima said. “The way they trusted me, that’s by far enough for me.
“If someone is trusting you, like they trusted me last year when they picked me, that gave me confidence. They really appreciated me, and that is what players need.
“That is the big reason behind my performance last year. The environment of the franchise is really good.”
Tom Moody is the director of cricket at Khuzaima’s franchise, the Vipers. He holds a similar role with Lucknow Super Giants in the IPL.
The former Australia all-rounder says they cannot oversee the management of players’ bank accounts given they only see them for a short time per year. But, he says, they do try to nudge them in the right direction.
“From a franchise perspective, it's not really our responsibility to put in a financial plan for them,” Moody said.
“But we encourage players that are under our care to surround themselves with positive influences. They need to have trust in those reliable people. That can expand out to whether it be financial advice or anything else that they may need as support.
“I think, in terms of the experience within our coaching group, they're very aware of trying to help people beyond just being a good cricketer. We want them to have a healthy and successful life as well.”
Sixteen countries around the world are affiliated to the World Cricket Association (WCA), including giving players access to advice on personal well-being and financial literacy.
“In most major cricket countries the players have established a players’ associations,” Tom Moffat, the chief executive of the WCA, said.
“Those associations often run personal development and well-being programmes designed to support players off the field during and after their careers.
“Professional athletes have earning potential relatively early in their lives, but we also know they have short-term, precarious career paths.
“The programmes run by players’ associations often include education on key off-field issues including in areas such as mental health, and financial literacy.”
The organisers of the ILT20 make a point of how much UAE players can learn from playing alongside the international stars that are everywhere in the six franchises.
As well as batting and bowling tips, the domestic players might like to lean on some advice about how to manage their finances, too.
Shimron Hetmyer is a teammate of Khuzaima’s at the Vipers. In 2019, on the back of a strong performance for West Indies against India, he hit the jackpot at the IPL auction. After a three-team bidding war, he went to Royal Challengers Bangalore for $600,000.
“Even though it was that amount, I still couldn’t believe I would have got all of that; I thought it would have been like half or just a little bit of it,” Hetmyer said.
“But then when I checked my bank account a little bit afterwards, I was like, OK, this is actually really exciting.”
Hetmyer said the best investment he has made is an indoor net and swimming pool at his home in Guyana. He also says he has not made any particularly bad moves with his money, either, for which he credits his wife, Nirvani.
His advice for UAE players is: don’t lose focus. “The more you play and the more experience you gain from playing, you start to stop thinking about the money as much,” Hetmyer said.
“If you focus on just the money, it takes away a lot from you being on the field and enjoying what you're doing, like meeting new people and making new friends.
“The more you play and the more good performances you put in day in, day out, that's when the big money comes in.”
The sentiment works for all players, not just the inexperienced UAE ones. The day after playing a match-winning performance for Sharjah in the ILT20, Matheesha Pathirana landed a massive windfall in the IPL auction.
The 22-year-old Sri Lankan earned a $2m bid to play for Kolkata Knight Riders in the 2026 season. Even though he already has international and IPL experience, that is a significant figure to bear.
“He's got a good head on young shoulders,” said Mahela Jayawardene, the former Sri Lanka captain, who coaches Mumbai Indians in the IPL.
“With all these young players, the price that they get, it's not their choice. It's the value that the franchise has put on them.
“As long as they understand that and they enjoy playing cricket, that is the most important thing. If they enjoy playing cricket, they’ll go out there, have fun and perform to their best.”
