MUMBAI, Dec 15: The competition between rival Twenty20 leagues is really heating up. And the men who are benefiting the most are the cricketers, for whom its raining money.

According to the figures released by the BCCI this week, the players involved in the Indian Premier League (IPL) will be earning upwards of million dollars as per current indication. The inaugural event will be held in April-May 2008.

Topping the list of 34 players who have been paid an initial signing amount is recently retired Australian spin legend Shane Warne, who will be netting $400,000 (Rs 1.6 cr approx) for the 2008 season.

This is just the start for Warne, for he will also be part of the player auction to take place in January-February when franchisees will bid for the stars. So, the stock of Warne and others could rise further in the coming days, informed a BCCI official at the end of the finance committee meeting on Friday.

Compare this with Warne’s big-ticket rival in the ICL, Brian Lara, who came on board at a price of $1m (Rs 4cr). The terms, tenure and conditions of Lara’s contract are not clear because the former West Indies captain is locked in another round of discussion with the organisers. Plus the total prize money involved in the ICL which ends on Dec 16 is around Rs 18 crore.

Following Warne in the list of payments are compatriot Glenn McGrath and former New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming (both $350,000). Pakistan’s prolific middle-order batsman Mohammad Yousuf follows next at $330,000. Pakistan captain Shoaib Malik ($300,000) is surprisingly in the list of the top five earners as of now.

Of the 12 cricketers who have been paid partly, Yousuf is the only one who has received his full amount. McGrath has received $200,000 and Stephen Fleming $150,000.

Around 49 cricketers had been signed on by the IPL, but only 34 names were revealed on Friday because the Australian cricketers are unavailable for the inaugural edition. The Aussie cricketers, including captain Ricky Ponting and Adam Gilchrist will be busy with international engagements in Pakistan and West Indies, so will not be available.

—Agencies