Australia Test skipper Pat Cummins is reportedly now the highest-paid cricketer in his country with a report saying that the pace express earns two million Australian Dollars a year. A report in Sydney Morning Herald and The Age said that the 29-year-old KKR bowling all-rounder Cummins earned 1.8 million Australian Dollars for playing for Australia and received an incentive of 200,000 Australian Dollars for leading the side this year.
The report added that the 'confidential rankings' were released 'internally by Cricket Australia this week.' Meanwhile, Cummins was the leading earner in the sport for the third successive year. Cummins' pace bowling partner Josh Hazlewood is second in the pecking order, followed by opener David Warner, pace bowler Mitchell Starc and batters Steve Smith and Marnus Labuschagne. Spinner Nathan Lyon also makes this list.
"Hazlewood pocketed AUD 1.6m, Warner earned AUD 1.5m, Starc took home AUD 1.4m, Smith was paid AUD 1.3m, Labuschagne earned AUD 1.2m and Lyon was paid AUD $1.1m," the report said.
Among the biggest gainers, is RCB pacer Hazlewood. The star has climbed from fifth to second place this year despite playing just two Tests last season. The pacer was sidelined after the first Ashes Test at home and could not take further part in the series due to a side strain. Batting stalwart Steve Smith has dropped from second to fifth and Labuschagne, the No.1 batter in ICC Test rankings, has achieved his highest ranking of sixth.
Australia are scheduled to fly out next week to Sri Lanka for a month-long series, which includes three T20Is, five ODIs, and two Tests. The action begins with the opening T20I at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on June 7.
