According to Forbes, Indian captain MS Dhoni made .5 million last year. That shows the rewards for cricket have never been greater for those with the right approach.

So how did he do it, and how can you emulate his success with your own game?

It’s quite possible that endless riches are before you if you can hit a cricket ball harder than anyone else. But Dhoni’s real talent doesn’t lie in bat speed, hand-eye coordination or counting the money.

Because, as Dhoni knows, to get the fortune you have to ignore the fortune.

For all professionals from Dhoni to the most humble corporate stipend player, cricket pays the bills. But chasing the money for the sake of it is a distraction.

The real way to be a successful cricketer is to have a deep passion for the game that runs beyond how much you make. If you do it just for the cash (an external reward) you will eventually lose your motivation to train. Studies in sport have backed this up. The boffins have proved it.

Riches will come, but only if you get through the poor times. Dhoni spent many years unpaid, and then poorly paid as a cricketer. In that time he was driven by his passion to improve.

Pressure, what pressure?

That alone will get you started on the road to becoming a cricketer in the mould of Dhoni, but there is one other secret to his riches.

He is the type of guy that, in the old cliché, you would want to bat for your life. He will put everything into it and stay eerily calm throughout.

Most people buckle under pressure. And in my view that is one of the key reasons people fall away from cricket before reaching their potential: the just can’t handle the thought of failure.

Dhoni is the opposite. He thrives on the pressure moment. He walks out to bat in the World Cup final in the sapping heat with plenty of work to do. He never doubted for a moment that he would be the man to win it (and he wasn’t thinking about IPL money or endorsements at the time).

There is no doubt that he is so good because he has this ability.

For some people, this strength comes naturally. Others need a strategy in place to deal with pressure.

That’s why, if you want to be as rich and as good at cricket as Dhoni, you put in plenty of hours practice and enrol on this mental training online course to develop your skill under pressure.

Being as good as Dhoni is a long shot, but he is not a one off and all his skills are ones that can be learned. It can be done and the Forbes Rich List awaits those who but their passion into action. 

Can you step up?