There has been much talk of late about M S Dhoni being more sought after by advertisers than Sachin Tendulkar.

But if payment of income tax is any indicator, the little master is still way ahead of all other Indian cricket stars when it comes to earnings. Dhoni is a distant second, though catching up, in terms of tax paid, while Virender Sehwag is third.

Data on income tax paid by cricketers shows that Sachin has maintained a steady level of over Rs 8 crore for the last three years, 2006-07 to 2008-09. Behind him, there’s been a reshuffle in the batting order.

Dhoni has moved up from third spot in 2006-07 to second last year with a Rs 4.7 crore tax bill. Rahul Dravid, who was Sachin’s closest competitor in 2006-07 and a close third behind Dhoni in 2007-08, has dropped to fifth spot.

(Income tax paid in Rs crore and figures in brackets indicate last year’s rankings)

Years 2008-09 2007-08
1. Sachin 8.1 8.7 (1)
2. Dhoni 4.7 3.4 (2)
3. Sehwag 3.1 1.9 (5)
4. Yuvraj 2.6 2.0 (4)
5. Dravid 2.4 3.1 (3)