Pakistan captain Sarfraz Ahmed and superstar pacer Mohammad Amir have lower basic salary than Ireland players.

This jarring statistic was revealed in a feature published by ESPNcricinfo. According to it, Australian captain Steven Smith is the highest paid cricketer this year with $1.469 million. He is followed by England Test captain Joe Root, who earned $1.38 million, while Indian skipper Virat Kohli is third on the list with $1 million this year.

Pakistan captain Sarfraz, who led his team to Champions Trophy trumpet in 2017, in sixth on the list with earnings of $300,000 this year. Sarfraz is also below South Africa captain Faf du Plessis ($440,000) and former Sri Lanka captain Angelo Mathews ($320,000).

However, the earnings exclude income from domestic T20 leagues, domestic engagements and brand endorsements and are only based on the remunerations paid by the boards to their players in the form of match fee and contractual retainers.

Perhaps the most jarring statistic is that Pakistan’s top-tier contract ($74,014) grade pays less than that of Ireland’s ($75,000).

In fact, only Zimbabwe and Bangladesh boards have a lower basic rate for their players than the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). Australia, the highest paying team, pays its players 1,600% more than what the Pakistan Cricket Board does.