India-Pakistan matches are among the most headline-grabbing matches in international cricket and the stadiums are usually packed with spectators from both countries, but the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka sees the opposite. Some sections of the stadium were empty when India and Pakistan faced each other in the Asia Cup 2023 Group A match. The fans in the stadium were waving flags of both countries, clapping, but their numbers were not as high as it often happens in matches between these two countries. There were many empty seats in the stands and the grassed (non-stand) stands, which is not usually seen during an Indo-Pak cricket match.
Former Zimbabwe team captain Heath Streak passes away, wife informs
A Sri Lanka Cricket official said on condition of anonymity, “You can see that the tickets are not fully sold. In fact, tickets were still on sale in Kandy and Colombo yesterday evening. There were not many buyers for the high-priced tickets in the grandstand.”
Initially the minimum ticket price was US$20 (about 6400 Sri Lankan Rupees), but later it was reduced to 1500 Sri Lankan Rupees. Along with this, he was charged 2560 Sri Lankan rupees to buy tickets for both the matches of the Indian team in Pakistan and Nepal. Despite this, there was no significant rush for tickets and some fans were quite happy with it.
Varun, who runs his own business in Colombo, said, “Tickets were easily available. Actually, I got the ticket in Colombo yesterday. We thought tickets would not be available as it was an India vs Pakistan match. We are happy that we can watch India vs Pakistan match without any crowd.
However, the situation has frustrated ground officials.
“This is surprising,” said an official. I can admit that grandstand ticket prices are high but tickets for other parts of the stadium are not expensive. It is weekend time and it was a good opportunity for people to come here. I think the audience did not show much interest because of the forecast of rain.
The lower-than-expected turnout has also disappointed hoteliers and tour operators. Almost all hotels had rooms available. On the other hand, the situation is completely different regarding the World Cup match to be played between India and Pakistan in Ahmedabad. There has been a significant increase in hotel and plane ticket fares.
The owner of the group, which runs several hotels in Sri Lanka, said, “We were preparing for a huge crowd of fans. We have seen the reaction of the fans to the India vs Pakistan match. But many rooms are empty in our hotel and many other places are also in the same situation.