India captain Dhoni highest paid cricketer

On a day when India were humiliated by England for the second time in three Tests, it might make rude reading to bring up Forbes's list of the top paid sportspersons in the world.

Indian cricket captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni was at number 30 in the list dated June 18, 2012.

The first cricketer on the list, with, according to Forbes.com , total earnings of $26.5 million; salary/winnings at $3.5 million; endorsements at $23 million.

The earnings and ranking of Dhoni will rankle the Indian supporters, one billion of them, many of whom who already took to twitter to vent their frustration at the Indian team’s woeful display in the ongoing series against England.

England coasted to a seven-wicket victory in the third Test at Eden Gardens in Kolkata on Sunday.

That set in motion  the Twitter handle #PossibleDhoniExcuses under which disgruntled fans came up with some options for Dhoni to explain the defeat. 

Here is a selection of some of the best:

@KalidasNalla: Ashwin didn't score 200 and resist the English bowlers for another day; hence we lost #PossibleDhoniExcuses

@thyag1994: #PossibleDhoniExcuses You know...the pitch was...you know...boys were...you know...some times we cannot...you know.. i dont know..

@nikhiltiwari05: #PossibleDhoniExcuses our bowlers were nt at par, v thought 41 would b enough to defend...

@aku_ram: Well of course they had a good Cook , we weren't hungry enough that's all. #PossibleDhoniExcuses

@thatbatguy: #PossibleDhoniExcuses C'mon we blanked them 3-0 in the toss,what more can u expect..!

@MOVIESonRocks: We had been striving for consistency & It was important we had lost in India as well to acheive that...#PossibleDhoniExcuses

@punter4u: #PossibleDhoniExcuses sehwag and gambhir responsible for the loss they can't expose 9 tailenders to English bowling

@changaakash5: #PossibleDhoniExcuses that monty panesar is an indian n swann is african :-) so we din lose to england basically...it was ind vs world XI 

Having come under fire for insisting on spin friendly tracks which boomeranged on the hosts in Mumbai, Dhoni was hopeful of bouncing back to level the series in the final Test.

"We have everything to play for in Nagpur. Everybody needs to pull up their socks. Of course the better team won. They bowled in the right areas they fielded well. They played well but we need to retaliate."

The Forbes report describes Dhoni as popular for on-field dominance and cool demeanor, then citing a 2010 three-year deal with United Breweries that pays nearly $2 million per year. Dhoni endorses more than 20 other brands, including Reebok, PepsiCo and Sony.

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