Highlights
Ticket prices were also reduced for India-Pakistan matches.
This kind of indifference of the spectators was not seen before in the match between India and Pakistan.
Palekal (Sri Lanka). In international cricket, the match between India and Pakistan (IND vs PAK) attracts the most headlines. Stadiums are usually packed with spectators from both countries, but the scene was quite the opposite during the Asia Cup in Sri Lanka. Many 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 the flags of both countries, clapping, but their numbers were not as often seen in matches between these two countries. There were many empty seats in the stands and Ghasiale (standless) auditorium, which is not usually seen during an India-Pakistan cricket match.
A Sri Lanka Cricket official said on condition of confidentiality, ‘As you can see, 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 Indian team tickets for both the matches against Pakistan and Nepal. Despite this, there was no significant rush for tickets and some fans were quite happy with it.
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Didn’t the audience show much interest because of the rain?
Running his own business in Colombo, Varun said, ‘Tickets were easily available. In fact, I got the ticket in Colombo yesterday. We thought that tickets would not be available as it was an India-Pakistan match. We are happy that we can watch the India vs Pakistan match without any crowd. However, the ground officials are disappointed with the situation. An officer said, ‘This is surprising. I can agree that ticket price for grandstand is 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 low number of visitors disappointed hotel owners and tour operators
The lower-than-expected turnout has disappointed hoteliers and tour operators. Almost all hotels had rooms available. On the other hand, the situation regarding the World Cup match to be played between India and Pakistan in Ahmedabad is completely different. There, hotel and plane ticket fares have gone up a lot. 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 fan reaction to the India vs Pakistan match. But many rooms are empty in our hotel and similar situation in many other places.
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Tags: Asia Cup, IND vs PAK, India Vs Pakistan
First published: September 02, 2023, 17:46 IST