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Tendulkar, Dhoni, and Kohli have become the biggest brands in the country but aren’t the richest cricketers in the world or the country.
Who’s that cricketer richer than Dhoni, Sachin and Kohli?
Cricket, India’s most beloved sport, is not only a source of national pride but also a pathway to immense financial success. The likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Mahendra Singh Dhoni, and Virat Kohli have become the biggest brands in the country and are also regarded as some of the greatest cricketers of their generation. However, they aren’t the richest ones in the world or the country.
Aryaman Birla stands far ahead of these cricketing legends with an astonishing net worth of ₹70,000 crore. The son of Kumar Mangalam Birla, the chairman of the Aditya Birla Group, Aryaman hails from one of India’s most prominent industrial families.
Although now a thriving entrepreneur, Aryaman’s journey began on the cricket field. He debuted in the 2017-18 season for Madhya Pradesh in the Ranji Trophy and joined the Rajasthan Royals in the 2018 Indian Premier League (IPL) after being bought for ₹30 lakh.
According to ESPNcricinfo, Aryaman featured in nine first-class matches, amassing 414 runs with one century and one half-century. In List A cricket, he played four matches, scoring a modest 36 runs. Despite a promising start, Aryaman stepped away from professional cricket in 2019, citing personal reasons. Though he spent two seasons with the Rajasthan Royals, he did not make his IPL debut and was eventually released by the franchise.
Speaking to ESPNcricinfo, Birla had said he found comfort when people started recognising him for his game and not for his surname.
“Performances are the best way of earning trust and respect, so when I started scoring runs, people started seeing me in a different light,” he had told ESPNcricinfo. “When I first came to MP, I was known more by my last name. I kept hearing ‘Birla’s son, Birla’s grandson.’ But through my performances, I changed perceptions, they started seeing me differently. That’s been my biggest achievement so far. Recently someone came and asked me ‘You’re so seedha saadha (simple and straightforward), we didn’t even know you’re from the Birla family.’ That to me was a sign of change.”
Birla spent two seasons with RR but never managed to break into the playing XI. The franchise eventually released him in November that year. In December 2019, Birla announced an ‘indefinite sabbatical from cricket’ and never returned to the sport.
“I’ve felt trapped. I’ve pushed myself through all the distress so far, but now I feel the need to put my mental health and wellbeing above all else,” he wrote on Instagram. “We all have our own journeys and I want to take this time to understand myself better, open my mind to new and varied perspectives and seek purpose in my findings.”
Born on 9 July 1997, Aryaman later transitioned into the family business, taking on significant roles alongside his sister, Ananya Birla.
