Who Is India’s Richest Cricketer And Know Secret To His Rs 20,000 Crore Net Worth, It’s Not MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli Or Sachin Tendulkar

The net worth of this first-class cricketer is almost 20-times more than the likes of MS Dhoni, Virat Kohli and Sachin Tendulkar.

Samarjitsinh Gaekwad. (Source: Twitter)

It is no secret that cricket is the most followed sports in India and the most profitable one as well. The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) made over Rs 43,000 crore just by selling the media rights of the Indian Premier League (IPL) tournament. It is no secret that the likes of Virat Kohli, former India skipper MS Dhoni and India cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar all have net worth of over Rs 1,000 crore.

However, the net worth of Kohli, Dhoni and Tendulkar pales in comparison to an almost unknown first-class cricketer from the state of Baroda. A state which has produced former India cricketers like Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan, is home to India’s richest Indian cricketer – Samarjitsingh Ranjitsinh Gaekwad, who has reported net worth of over Rs 20,000 crore.

He is the only son of Ranjitsinh Pratapsinh Gaekwad and Shubhangini Raje. Samarjitsinh turned out in six first-class for Baroda between the 1987-88 and 1988-89 season. He also went on to become a cricket administrator after his retirement and served as the president of the Baroda Cricket Association (BCA).

Secret to Samarjitsinh Gaekwad’s net worth

Samarjitsingh Gaekwad overnight became one of the richest cricketers in the world, when the Gaekwads of Baroda settled a 23-year-old inheritance dispute worth over 3 billion pounds in 2013 or about Rs 20,000 crore. The Maharaja of Baroda was once the ruler of one of India’s most powerful princely states, with his own army and navy which he controlled from the Laxmi Vilas Palace, a grand property believed to be four times the size of Buckingham Palace and set in 600 acres with its own golf course as well.

It is no wonder that Samarjitsinh is a more than proficient golfer as well. The estimated £3 billion estate was in dispute however since shortly after the death of Maharaja Fetehsinghrao Gaekwad in 1988. His younger brother Ranjitsinh succeeded him but another brother Sangramsinh said family tradition meant he was entitled to a half share in the estate.

“Their mother disowned him after he launched his legal action, but negotiations to settle the 23 year dispute were launched by Ranjtsinh’s heir, Maharaja Samarjitsinh Gaekwad, shortly after his coronation last year,” UK’s The Telegraph newspaper reported.

Under the agreement Maharaja Samarjitsinh Gaekwad retained Laxmi Vilas Palace and the lion’s share of the estate, including most of its jewellery and a collection of valuable paintings by the 19th century Indian painter Raja Ravi Verma.

His uncle Sangramsinh Gaekwad, who lives in Mumbai, was given the Nazarbag Palace in Baroda, a number of bungalows and plots of land in the city, a house in Mumbai and control of the family investment and textile firms. More than 20 other relatives, including five sisters of the late Ranjitsinh received a share in the jewellery, artworks and other valuables.

Samarjitsinh Gaekwad is married to Radhikaraje

Since 2002, Samarjitsinh Gaekwad is married to Radhikaraje, a lady from the royal family of Wankaner state and the couple have two daughters together. Samarjitsinh with his family as well as Shubhangiraje are the current residents of Laxmi Vilas Palace in Baroda.

Radhikaraje Gaekwad is a former journalist, who worked briefly for Indian Express newspaper as well, where she worked for three years before her marriage. She has a verified Instagram account as well with over 1.34 lakh followers.

What is Virat Kohli, MS Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar’s net worth?

Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar may have retired from cricket more than a decade back but according to report, he has a net-worth of over Rs 1,300 crore. Tendulkar has plenty of business interests and earned around Rs 50 crore in 2022 with his investments and endorsements, according to Economic Times newspaper.

Chennai Super Kings skipper MS Dhoni’s net worth stands around Rs 1,050 crore according to report. Dhoni recently launched a new Tamil movie – LGM (Let’s Get Married) – under the banner of his company ‘Dhoni Entertainment’. Dhoni is also the highest advance tax payer from the state of Jharkhand last year.

Kohli also has a net-worth of around Rs 1,040 crore, earning around Rs 15 crore from Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) franchise in IPL. Kohli gets Rs 15 lakh per Test match, Rs 6 lakh for each ODI and Rs 3 lakh for playing a T20I. Not to forget, Kohli has a ‘A+’ contract with Board for Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), which gives him Rs 7 crore a year.