The coaches play a pretty important role in every sport. In cricket, their role may not be as important as football but they still play a significant part. They are generally more in the background and go about their work quietly.
In international cricket, the coach’s role is not only to work on the (minor) technical deficiencies of players (if they are present) but also the mental aspect of the game. In fact, they play a role in getting the players game-ready as well. Along with the captain, the coaches generally pick the playing XI, jot out strategies and suggest various things to various players.
Hence, a coach plays a defining role in a team. Moreover, their contract often depends on the team’s performance. Thus, they are under pressure as well. However, the pay they receive is different in different countries. Thus, here we look at the top 10 highest paid cricket coaches at the moment in world cricket.
10. Lalchand Rajput (Zimbabwe) – $50,000 (INR 35.8 Lakhs)
Zimbabwean cricket is in dire straits at the moment. They’ve been suspended by the ICC and won’t even be allowed to participate in the World T20 Qualifiers this year. Moreover, they have constant payment issues with the players as well. However, their head coach Lalchand Rajput takes out a considerable pay from the board.
The former Indian cricketer receives $50,000 annually. He was first appointed as Zimbabwe’s interim coach in May 2018 before he took over as full-time later that year. He had replaced former Zimbabwean star Heath Streak who had issues with payments as well.
Rajput has quite a bit of coaching experience. He was India’s cricket manager during the ICC World T20 in 2007 and held that post till the series down under in 2007-08. He has also worked in the IPL and was the head coach of Afghanistan for a couple of years before he took up the job of the Zimbabwean team.
9. Floyd Reifer (West Indies) – $90,000 (INR 64.5 Lakhs)
Having played competitive cricket for more than two decades, Floyd Reifer has loads of experience. He played 15 international games which spanned over 12 years. In fact, he even led them in a few games. When the senior players boycotted the Champions Trophy in 2009, it was Reifer who led the team in the big tournament in South Africa.
He retired from all forms of cricket in 2014. Post that, he got into the coaching arena pretty quickly. He has had stints with West Indies cricket in the last few years. Moreover, the former left-hander has been with the West Indies ‘A’ team and a couple of domestic sides.
Hence, he took over the job of the coach from Richard Pybus earlier this year and is paid $90,000 annually. Reifer’s first assignment as a coach was the World Cup where Windies had a disappointing tournament. The India series was also a huge let-down as they failed to win a single game across formats.
8. Ottis Gibson (South Africa) – $140,000 (INR 1.05 Crores)
Ottis Gibson is rated pretty highly in the coaching sector. He has been around the coaching arena for more than 12 years now. He has had various stints as bowling and head coach in a few countries. Gibson last played international cricket in 1999 but went on to play County cricket for almost a decade after that.
However, as soon as he quit, the former West Indian fast bowler was appointed as England’s bowling coach. A couple of years later, he became the head coach of West Indies and stayed till 2014. In 2015, he returned to England as the bowling coach and played a crucial role in England step up for a few years.
An opportunity in South Africa opened up and Gibson was up for it as he took over as the head coach of the African side. He was yearly paid $140,000 before he was sacked after South Africa’s poor show in the World Cup. While South Africa are coach-less at the moment, Gibson who drew 0.14 million dollars as salary is eighth on this list.
7. Russel Domingo (Bangladesh) – $180,000 (INR 1.29 Crore)
Russel Domingo is one of the few cricket coaches around the world who hasn’t played any first-class or competitive cricket at the highest level. Very early in his career, he gave up the sport and pursued a career in coaching. The Port Elizabeth-born has had various stints in various international and domestic teams.
In fact, he was also at the helm for the South Africa ‘A’ side for a couple of years. Domingo took over as Warriors’ head coach and did very well with the South African domestic side. In 2011, he was Gary Kirsten’s understudy in the national team.
However, it was in 2013 when Domingo got full control over the team when Kirsten stepped down. He coached South Africa for four years before Ottis Gibson took over. After being on the sidelines for a couple of years, Domingo got an offer in Bangladesh as the head coach. He is now being paid 0.18 million dollars annually.
6. Gary Stead (New Zealand) – $240,000 (INR 1.73 Crore)
New Zealand are arguably one of the most underrated teams in world cricket. Moreover, their coaches have been in the background and have never gained a lot of limelight. Mike Hesson did an excellent job for the last few years and now, Gary Stead has taken that forward.
After Hesson surprisingly stepped down, Stead came through and led the coaching transition really well. He had a lot of success in domestic cricket before he took over the national side. Stead led Canterbury to multiple titles in domestic cricket. Even with the New Zealand side, he has started off very well.
Under his leadership, the Kiwis have done well in all three formats. Their Test game has developed really well while they fell agonizingly short of lifting the World Cup earlier this year. However, Stead draws a salary of about $240,000 annually as the coach of the New Zealand cricket team.
5. Misbah-ul-Haq (Pakistan) – $250,000 (INR 1.79 Crore)
Mickey Arthur played a significant role in Pakistan cricket over the last few years. He was at the helm when Pakistan lifted the Champions Trophy in 2017 as well. However, the Pakistan cricket board decided to replace him with former skipper Misbah-ul-Haq.
Misbah is not only the head coach but is also the chief selector of the national side. He was Pakistan’s talisman and the team did pretty well under his leadership. In fact, Misbah is Pakistan’s most successful Test captain. Hence, the appointment wasn’t a surprise at all.
However, despite his duel role as selector and coach, the 45-year-old isn’t getting a big pay. Misbah is extracting an amount of 0.25 million dollars annually which is almost the same as Pakistan’s previous coach, Arthur.
4. Chandika Hathurusingha (Sri Lanka) – $480,000 (INR 3.44 Crore)
Here is another man who is rated pretty highly around the coaching circuit in international cricket. Chandika Hathurusingha may have played just 26 Tests and 35 ODIs in the 1990s for Sri Lanka but he is one of the highly-rated coaches around the cricketing world.
After he stopped playing competitive cricket in 2005, he worked with the Sri Lanka ‘A’ side for a few years before becoming the assistant coach of the national team. However, he soon flew to Australia for a stint with the New South Wales as assistant coach. Hathurusingha also was a part of the coaching staff of the Sydney Thunder in the Big Bash for a few years.
However, in 2014, the Colombo-born was appointed as Bangladesh’s head coach. He had a wonderful time there as he led Bangladesh’s rise in international cricket. Be it Test cricket or ODIs, he played a crucial role in the development of cricket in Bangladesh. But in 2017, he was back in Sri Lanka as the head coach. Given his reputation, Hathurusingha draws a hefty annual amount of almost half a million dollars for his role as the head coach.
3. Trevor Bayliss (England) – $520,000 (INR 3.73 Crore)
Having played first-class and List ‘A’ cricket for a decade, Trevor Bayliss could never break into the Australian national side. However, in the 21st century, he got into the coaching sector and became very popular. He first took over the New South Wales side and was the coach for more than three years.
Bayliss was appointed Sri Lanka’s head coach after the team’s disappointing outing the 2007 World T20 in South Africa. He stayed there for four years before stepping down after Sri Lanka’s loss in the World Cup final in 2011. After the Sri Lankan stint, Bayliss went into franchise cricket and was pretty successful.
The Australian had very successful stints with Sydney Sixers and Kolkata Knight Riders and led both teams to BBL and IPL titles respectively. However, it was in 2015 when he took over as England’s head coach. He draws a salary of 0.52 million dollars annually. Under him, England have been at the top in ODI cricket and eventually, lifted the World Cup in 2019. Test cricket was a bit of a hit and miss but there were a lot of successful moments as well. He also led the side to the final of the World T20 in 2016.
2. Justin Langer (Australia) – $650,000 (INR 4.66 Crore)
Justin Langer was always away from the limelight during his playing days. Despite being successful, he was mostly overshadowed by other stars. He retired as one of the most successful openers as he finished with an average of 45.27.
However, post his playing days, in 2012, he took over as the coach of Western Australia and Perth Scorchers. After successful stints at the aforementioned, he was appointed Australia’s head coach in May 2018. This came in the aftermath of the ball-tampering saga which broke out in Cape Town in March 2018.
Ever since he took over, Australia may have had an up and downtime on the field, but he has led them admirably off it. He has created a wonderful culture around the team and is rated highly amongst the Australian team. At the moment, he draws a salary of about 0.65 million dollars for his role as head coach in the Australian cricket team.
1. Ravi Shastri (India) – $1,350,000 (INR 9.7 Crore)
If not the richest, BCCI is among one of the richest cricket boards in the world. Hence, it’s no surprise that India’s coach Ravi Shastri gets a massive salary for his role as the head coach of the Indian cricket team. The former India all-rounder gets about 1.35 million dollars annually.
Shastri has played multiple roles in Indian cricket. After his successful stint as a player, he turned to the commentary box and became a known voice across the world. However, he has often been India’s crisis man. After India’s shock exit from the World Cup in 2007, he took over as the coach for a brief period.
In 2014, he was appointed as the team director after India’s disastrous Test series in England. He served at that position for a couple of years and was terminated after India’s exit in the semi-final of the World T20 in 2016. A year later, Shastri was appointed as the head coach. India did well but stumbled in a couple of overseas Test series’ and in the semi-final of the 2019 World Cup. However, the 57-year-old was reappointed for a couple more years in August 2019.
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