Hyderabad: Cricket fans were once again let down by the Sunrisers Hyderabad franchise, which controls the tickets sale for the IPL matches to be staged at the Uppal stadium here.
On Monday, IPL’s ticketing partner Paytm opened tickets for the SRH versus Chennai Super Kings tie on April 5 but the tickets were reportedly sold out within 10 minutes on the platform. Many fans, waiting in a virtual queue for hours, were greeted with a “sold out” pop-up.
The stadium can seat 39,000 fans. The ticketing authority for every IPL match played in the stadium will be with IPL management. Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA), that presides over the stadium, has no authority over ticket sales.
Not all 39,000 tickets are sold online. On Monday, when sales opened at 11 am, only 34,000 were on sale. Even then, more than half of them were sold out within a minute.
A user on Reddit’s SRH subreddit posted a screenshot of the ticketing interface, where half of the tickets were sold out by 11.01 am, raising suspicions.
Sources said that management gives a fair share of tickets to the owners of the playing teams, Sun TV and India Cements, and the IPL governing council. Sources also said around 4,000 tickets are given to the HCA.
Sources added that around 25 corporate boxes were bought by businessmen, each costing up to Rs 5 lakh with 25-30 VIP tickets. Those who purchase these boxes gift the tickets to government officials and authorities in return of official favours.
There are 213 cricket league clubs in the state, and each club receives 15-20 tickets, the source added.
As there are only seven matches being organised in Hyderabad, the demand for tickets has increased exponentially. Many fans purchase tickets in black for twice the original price.
A X user on Monday tweeted that he had purchased a Rs 1,500 ticket in black for Rs 3,000 for the March 27 SRH match versus Mumbai Indians, to which another user replied it was better to watch it live than spend such exorbitant amounts.
Cricket fans are deeply saddened over the complete confusion over tickets, and are hoping IPL management will solve the issue.
