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Huge Pakistani response for Delhi ODI
Surprisingly, Ahmedabad, is also in great demand by Pak fans and officials would like to get between 4-5,000 tickets for the one-dayer.
India has so far issued 3,000 visas to Pakistanis for next week's first Test at Mohali but there is an overwhelming response for the matches in New Delhi, Ahmedabad and Bangalore, says an official of the American Express bank that is selling tickets in Pakistan.
"There has been an overwhelming response in Pakistan to visit India, not just to watch matches but also to meet their relatives in different cities," American Express manager Iqbal Junani said.
The Punjab Cricket Association (PCA), organisers of the first Test beginning at Mohali on March 8, sent last week 7,500 tickets to the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB).
"These 7,500 tickets are just for the first Test, but there are thousands in Pakistan who want to visit other cities," said Junani.
"It would have been better had Delhi been included in the visas being given for the Mohali match," he said. The Indian visas given out to Pakistanis are city specific.
The biggest demand, said Junani, was for New Delhi where the sixth and final One-Day International will be played on April 17.
"People want to witness the Delhi match also. We would like to get about 8,000-10,000 tickets for the match," he said, probably unaware that the Ferozeshah Kotla ground will have a reduced capacity as the massive renovation would not be complete by April 17.
In the half-built stadium, the organisers are expecting the capacity for the match to be between 20,000-25,000. There are a lot of Pakistanis who want to explore business opportunities in New Delhi and elsewhere and would like to mix business with pleasure.
Surprisingly, Ahmedabad, the epicentre of the 2002 communal riots in which thousands of people were killed, is also in great demand by Pakistani fans.
The PCB has been dithering over sending its team to the Gujarat city, but following talks between the two boards and the governments the Test was replaced by a One-Day International.
