Good evening everyone.
In this fourth installment, we will focus on cricket , a minor sport in Japan, and take a closer look at the watches worn by top cricket players.
So, let's play!
What kind of sport is cricket?
Cricket is a sport that originated in England, and its history is said to date back to the early 16th century . It is as popular as football (soccer) in England. It is especially popular in India, where it is called the "national sport." It is surprising that 90% of the approximately 1 billion fans in the world (as of a 2018 survey) are said to be Indian.
Cricket fields are entirely made of grass, and there are "tea breaks" during the match, which is why it is called "the gentleman's sport."
Tea time during the match... That's England for you! (laughs)
Another surprising fact about cricket is how high the annual salary is. The amount is over 400 million yen !!! Among sports, basketball has the highest annual salary, with an average of 800 million yen (2021-2022), but the average annual salary of a cricketer is also an incredible amount.
So let's take a look at the watches worn by these top cricket players who earn such high annual salaries!
1. Virat Kohli
Known as one of the greatest batsmen of all time , with an annual income of 2.5 billion yen (as of 2020), Virat Kohharie is so famous that it is said that there is no Indian who doesn't know him .
He owns many watches, so I would like to introduce two of them to you.
First, the first one
[Patek Philippe] "Aquanaut" "Ref. 5968A-001"
Demand for the Aquanaut has been on the rise in recent years, and along with the brand's Nautilus, it is driving the popularity of luxury sports watches. This model, the Ref. 5968A, was announced at Baselworld 2018 and is the first Aquanaut model equipped with a chronograph.
This popular model features an eye-catching orange scale and chronograph hands, as well as a tropical band. All of the components are made of WG (white gold) and are painted with Super-LumiNova, making it highly visible.
Next, the second one is,
[Rolex] "Sky-Dweller" "Ref. 326935"
Equipped with the fully in-house developed movement "Cal. 9001," the first since the Yacht-Master II, this is Rolex's first semi-complication model with an annual calendar that only needs to be adjusted on March 1st and a dual time display.
The fact that he wears the eye-catching "Sky-Dweller (42mm diameter)" so casually shows the confidence of a top athlete. It suits him very well!
2. Mahendra Singh Dhoni
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is ranked 13th in the world's famous athlete rankings, and in India he is one of the most popular players , along with Virat Kohli, who we introduced earlier .
In 2009, he was awarded the Rajiv Gandhi Kale Ratna, the highest honor in the Indian sports world, and is also an ambassador for Panerai. Perhaps because of this, we were unable to find him wearing any other watch than a Panerai, but there is a Panerai model of Mahendra Singh Dhoni on sale, so we would like to introduce that to you.
[Panerai] "Luminor" "Ref. PAM01056"
The Goldtech™ case is made with Panerai's proprietary mixture of platinum and copper, which improves resistance to oxidation. The sophisticated details of the watch are inspired by Mahendra Mahendra, who has played for the Indian cricket team for many years.
The sapphire glass case back features his image and signature, which can be enjoyed along with the movement. This is a must-have for fans.
3. Hardik Pandya
Hardik Pandya is one of the rare all-rounders in cricket. He is also known for owning many luxury watches.
Hardik Pandya, who has a stylish and unique fashion sense, has many fans among the younger generation and can truly be called the next generation star of the cricket world.
The watch he is wearing is
[Patek Philippe] "Nautilus" "Ref. 5711/113P"
This is a super model with green emeralds on the index and bezel, and you can feel its special presence and luxurious impression at first glance. The material is also platinum. It is a simple three-hand model, but it is a watch suitable for a top cricket player with a high annual salary.
He wears this with a casual t-shirt and hat outfit with ease... his sense of style is truly impressive.
summary
How was today's match?
Cricket is not a very familiar sport in Japan, but with an average annual salary of around 400 million yen, the lineup was full of top athletes who are in no way inferior to players in other major sports.
Once again, we hope that by learning what kind of watches the world's top athletes wear, you will become at least a little more interested in luxury watches.
It seems that the number of cricket players in Japan is steadily increasing, so if you're interested, it might be worth giving it a try!
Until next time!
See You Next Match!!!