Live Score
Cricket Teams
Cricket Players
Asia Cup officials stunned as not many takers for India vs Pakistan match tickets despite price slash
There were not many takers for the India vs Pakistan match in Asia Cup 2023 despite discounted ticket prices in Pallekele.
The excitement in India and Pakistan was not replicated in the stands at the Pallekele International Stadium in Sri Lanka. Despite the high expectations, there were empty seats in the stadium as well as the grassy banks on Saturday as the sub-continent giants squared off in the Asia Cup 2023 Group A match. This does not suggest that the local fans deserted the big-ticket India vs Pakistan match but the number was far less than what is generally expected from this match.
This is the first ODI between India and Pakistan in four years. The last time the two neighbours played in the 50-over format was in the 2019 ODI World Cup in England. Naturally, the Asia Cup organisers expected to be a massive demand for tickets or at least a full house.
Generally, tickets for an India vs Pakistan match irrespective of the venue get sold out within minutes but in this case, the sale was on as late as Friday with very few takers. No wonder, the Sri Lanka Cricket Board were disappointed by the turnout.
"The tickets are not fully sold, as you can see. In fact, the sale of tickets was on even yesterday evening at Kandy and Colombo. There were not many takers for the top-end tickets in the Grand Stand,” an SLC official told news agency PTI.
The lowest denomination of tickets was USD 20 (Approximately LKR 6400) in the beginning but it was later slashed to LKR 1500, and LKR 2560 if purchased for both the India matches involving Pakistan and Nepal. But still there was no real rush for the tickets, and some fans were quite chuffed about it.
"Tickets were readily available. In fact, I got the ticket yesterday in Colombo. We thought tickets will not be available because it is an India vs Pakistan match. But we are not complaining. After all, we can watch an India vs Pakistan match without the frenzy that we often have to go through in India," said Varun Ghosh, who runs his business in Colombo.
The officials too have been left a trifle disappointed. They blamed the rain, which already caused multiple stoppages in India's innings as one of the reasons behind the low demands. "It is a bit surprising. I can understand that people may find the Grand Stand tickets costly (around LKR 64,000) but the Embankment tickets are priced at a good deal for them. It is the weekend too. It could also be because of the prediction for the rain during the match," the official said.
While the officials were left a bit disappointed, the less-than-anticipated fan rush has dismayed the hotel owners and tour operators. The rooms were available in all hotels and there was no rush for booking, unlike India's World Cup game in Ahmedabad where hotel tariff has shot through the roof.
"We were getting ready for some big rush by the fans. We have seen the fans’ response to the India vs Pakistan match. But we still have rooms left in our property, and it is the case with many other places too," said the owner of a prominent chain of hotels here.
