Cricket Stars Mahendra Singh Dhoni and Sachin Tendulkar are world’s highest-paid cricketers

Mahendra Singh Dhoni, Sachin Tendulkar, Gautam Gambhir, Virat Kohli, Virender Sehwag and Yusuf Pathan feature on the Forbes’ list of highest-paid cricketers; MS Dhoni tops the list!

India's "Captain Cool" Mahendra Singh Dhoni and batting maestro Sachin Tendulkar lead world's highest-paid cricketers with as many as six Indians making it to the Forbes list of top ten.

Dhoni's success on the pitch, including leading India to its second ever Cricket World Cup championship "had helped turn him into India's biggest celebrity," said the reputed US business magazine noting "the fame has paid off: last year, Mahendra Singh Dhoni made an unprecedented $26.5 million,"

But only a small portion of that payout, about $3.5 million, comes directly from Dhoni's on-field play, it said. The remaining sum of $23 million comes from his impressive list of nearly 25 endorsements, including PepsiCo, Reebok and Sony.

Fellow Indian Sachin Tendulkar, "arguably the greatest batsman to ever step onto a cricket pitch, was the game's highest-paid player before Dhoni's rise to fame."

"The Little Master is adored by cricket fans both young and old, and his popularity in India helped him make $18.6 million last year," Forbes said.

Like Dhoni, the vast majority of Tendulkar's earnings came courtesy of valuable sponsorship deals. Sachin Tendulkar currently has 16 sponsors, including Adidas, Coca-Cola, Castrol and Toshiba, and they paid a total $16.5 million "for the all-time great's services."

The next three spots on the Forbes list are also held by Indians with Gautam Gambhir ($7.3 million) ranked third, Virat Kohli ($7.1 million) fourth and Virender Sehwag ($6.9 million) fifth. Yusuf Pathan ($3.7 million) takes the tenth spot.

Four Australians led by Shane Watson ($5.9 million) take the sixth to ninth spots. He is followed by Australian captain Michael Clarke ($4.9 million), Brett Lee ($4.8 million) and Ricky Ponting ($4.1 million).

I am a huge Sachin Tendulkar fan, says Daniel Radcliffe

I am a huge Tendulkar fan, says Daniel Radcliffe

Harry Potter fans can more than just watch their favourite hero's final battle against Lord Voldemort. They can take heart in the fact that Daniel Radcliffe, known for most of his 22 years of life as Harry Potter, is an unabashed Indophile and plans to visit India soon.
For one, he is a big fan of cricket and Sachin Tendulkar and not necessarily in that order. Daniel cherishes an autograph of the Master Blaster. "My friends and I were thrilled to meet Sachin and get his autograph. I am a huge fan, he is truly a legend."

"I wanted to visit India during the Cricket World Cup but got so caught up with my Broadway musical, How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying, that it left me with no time. But cricket or no cricket, I am certainly planning a trip to India soon," he told TOI.

The British actor knows a lot about India. He said, "I have heard and read a lot about India, especially Midnight's Children, and would like to know more about the country. Indians are huge cricket fans, just like me."

As the Harry Potter film series draws to a close, the actor wants to take home two pairs of glasses that his onscreen persona sports as a reminder of the memorable time he spent on the sets. "I will also take home friendship which will last me a lifetime."

Daniel has been portraying the boy wizard for nearly a decade. "I do not want to break my Harry Potter image, but have been trying other characters and hope the audience will like them the way they did Harry Potter." The actor is confident that his Harry Potter image will not come in the way of his future films. "I don't think of it, but one has to move on. My next film, The Woman in Black, will release in 2012."

The British actor knows about Shah Rukh Khan starrer Chak De. "I have watched a couple of Bollywood films and found them every entertaining."

Though Emma Watson, known for her portrayal of know-it-all Hermione Granger, is paired alongside Daniel in the film, he looks at her as his sister. "We have been working together for over a decade and are very good friends. In the beginning, we felt a little awkward doing the romantic scenes but both of us are professionals and we gave our shots."

So finally what does he have to say to all his fans. "I hope you've been satisfied with the films and I'm sorry we haven't been able to keep everything in. I think Harry Potter fans have a literary curiosity and imagination that is not necessarily associated with fans of all other big franchises, both past and present," said the actor. "Take that curiosity out into the world, do extraordinary things."

Sachin, Deepika bow down to Katrina Kaif

He may be the cricket legend, but Sachin Tendulkar will have to bow down to beauty because the Bollywood sensation Katrina Kaif yet again topped the list of the sexiest women 2011 with her average rating being higher than that of Sachin.

The poll was conducted by the world's largest men's lifestyle magazine – FHM. "Katrina's average is higher than Sachin Tendulkar's and she replaces Deepika Padukone who won the crown in 2010," says Kabeer Sharma, executive director, FHM, India. The FHM 100 Sexiest Women poll is based entirely on online polls and SMS with over 35,000 entries being cast this year.

Interestingly, the more Katrina says that she doesn't believe in these titles - sexy, beautiful, gorgeous, the more she is getting 'caught' in various such titles and tags over and over again. "If somebody is graciously giving me something why should I refuse it," smiles Katrina. And she would definitely want to keep these titles. "When I grow old, I would like to tell my grand children about the titles I won," said Katrina, who is sans make up most of the time when she is not shooting. "If you come and stand near my house you will always find me without make up. And even when I am visiting my friends or going out for family dos, I don't use make up," she added. Katrina Kaif has previously been voted the Sexiest Woman in the World by FHM India in 2008 and 2009.

Kabeer Sharma, Executive Editor of FHM India, says, We'd love to say 2011 was a close contest...only 'Sheila' made sure it was far from. A feat that becomes even more significant because no woman in the world across all 28 editions of FHM has ever won the sexiest woman in the World title three times in the last 17 years that we've been making the list.

Though Katrina's film career is currently not at its peak with not many releases happening, she is still the toast of the season as not too long ago she was the only Bollywood actress to feature on the India Today's Elite Power list and has the most google searches than any other Indian celebrity. If that wasn't all Katrina was immortalized by Mattel who created a one-of a-kind 'I Can Be a Movie Star' Barbie Doll sketched on her image.