MS Dhoni has been one of India’s highest-earning sportspeople since his international debut in December 2004, and seven years after his last international match he is still on Chennai’s playing list.
MS Dhoni’s net worth
There is no official figure for Dhoni’s net worth. Indian media reports in 2025, including Zee News and Republic, put it at around ₹1,000 crore (about $120 million). These are estimates built from salary, endorsement and business figures, not audited accounts, so treat them as a rough guide.
The parts that are on the record are his Indian T20 League salary, the league’s match fee, his business interests and an independent brand valuation.
Indian T20 League salary
| Seasons | Team | Salary per season |
|---|---|---|
| 2018 to 2021 | Chennai | ₹15 crore |
| 2022 to 2024 | Chennai | ₹12 crore |
| 2025 onwards | Chennai | ₹4 crore |
The drop to ₹4 crore came with a rule change before the 2025 auction. Players who had been retired from international cricket for five years or more could be retained as uncapped players, and Chennai used it to keep Dhoni at a fraction of his old price.
Since 2025 every player in a match XI has also earned a match fee of ₹7.5 lakh per game, on top of his contract, so a player who appears in all 14 league games collects ₹1.05 crore in fees. Dhoni did not play a single match in 2026: a calf strain and then a thumb problem kept him out all season, the first time he had missed an entire season since the league began in 2008. As of September 2026 he remained on Chennai’s playing list for 2027, and the club has said it takes its decisions in discussion with him, including the appointment of Zaheer Khan as head coach.
Businesses and brand value
- Chennaiyin FC: co-owner of the Indian Super League football club since 2014.
- Ranchi Rays: co-owner of the Hockey India League franchise.
- SEVEN: the lifestyle brand he launched in February 2016, which he co-owns and fronts.
- Dhoni Entertainment: his production company signed a long-term deal with Banijay Asia in 2019 and produced the Tamil film LGM, released on 28 July 2023.
In 2022, the valuation firm Duff & Phelps put his brand value at $80.3 million.
The cricket career behind it
- Tests: 4,876 runs in 90 matches at 38.09, with six hundreds and 33 fifties.
- ODIs: 10,773 runs in 350 matches at 50.57, with ten hundreds and 73 fifties, at a strike rate of 87.56.
- T20Is: 1,617 runs in 98 matches at 37.60 and a strike rate of 126.13.
For India alone he made 17,092 international runs in 535 matches, the sixth-most by an Indian behind Sachin Tendulkar, Virat Kohli, Rahul Dravid, Rohit Sharma and Sourav Ganguly. His other 174 runs came in three ODIs for the Asia XI. He retired from international cricket on 15 August 2020.
As captain he is still the only one to have won all three ICC white-ball trophies: the T20 World Cup in 2007, the 50-over World Cup in 2011 and the Champions Trophy in 2013. He also led India to the Asia Cup in 2010 and 2016. More: MS Dhoni’s cricket records.
Sources: ESPNcricinfo Statsguru (career figures); ESPNcricinfo and BCCI announcements (retention rule, match fee); Wikipedia (business interests, Duff & Phelps valuation); Zee News and Republic (net-worth estimate). Interested in cricket betting? See the list of top sites.
Featured photo: PUNIT PARANJPE /DIBYANGSHU SARKAR / AFP