The common perception among people in general, especially among millions of Indian cricket fans is that cricketers are greedy and play only for money.  On the contrary many players especially for the likes Sachin and Dhoni money is just a number. It is just a landmark like any another cricketing landmark.  If Sachin graduates from 8000 to 9000 runs it is only a number and similarly for him his earnings from 8000 to 9000 crores is only a number.  Most players have made so much of money that they can afford to lead lavish lives for themselves and still have plenty of money for 100s of generations to follow them.

Fame and Adulation:- The main incentive for a player to get into the team is fame and adulation.  Once a player starts performing well he gets instant fame and adulation and money comes in automatically.  These days there is so much of money in cricket that a cricketer after playing for a couple of years need not worry about money for himself and successive generations. This is one thing Mahendra Singh Dhoni confessed in a interview. The pressure for a cricketer would not be on making more money but on retaining his fame and adulation, image  and his fan following. If Sachin is paid 100 crores for a ad and Dhoni gets 120 crores for an ad, it is only a number for Dhoni as he can say that he has toppled Sachin, not that Dhoni requires 20 more crores for a livelihood or to satisfy his greed.

Records and Pride:- After becoming a regular in the team a player plays to maintain his place in the team.  Once a player maintains his place he aims for records. A player cannot achieve records overnight.  While a player has a long term record in his sights, he keeps short terms goals and achieves those long terms records if he is able to maintain his place in the team.  Many players say that they play for the team and not for individual records, but the truth is that almost all players play for records and only some of them are frank enough to admit it. All of us are proud of our achievements and players are no exception in this regard.  A player may project a humble image of himself in front of people, but he is equally proud of his achievements as us if not more.  Again very few players are frank enough to say that they are proud individuals very proud of what they have achieved.

Motivation and Satisfaction:- At the end of the day, what every player craves for is satisfaction. For many players however ambitious they are to achieve fame, adulation and records it is very difficult to motivate themselves.  The focus for most players especially those assured of their places in the team is to motivate themselves.  Once they motivate themselves they are bound to achieve what they had aspired in their lives.

Our perception of players being selfish is true, but they are not selfish for money but like any of us they are selfish for fame, adulation and pride.