Hans News Service Hyderabad

Cricketfans were venting their anger at the management of the Sunrisers Hyderabad team for selling tickets physically, thereby giving a chance for them to be sold in black.

There were many cricket fans, who had thronged the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium at Uppal, trying their luck to get tickets at the last minute for the match between Sunrisers Hyderabad and Royal Challengers Bengaluru being held at the stadium. Despite strict vigil by the police, black marketers were seen selling tickets at two to three times the price.

One of the fans, Kishore, who came from Huzurabad in Karimnagar, said that tickets were priced at three times the actual rate. He said that when the ticket sale started, the district app showed they were in a queue and that they were behind 5,000 people.

“We paid the money but it got rejected and the amount was refunded. When we again logged into the site, the queue had gone beyond 50,000. The SRH management only encouraged black marketing of tickets.

They priced the Rs 750 ticket at Rs 1,500 and the Rs 1,500 ticket at Rs 3,000, making it difficult for the common man to get a ticket,” said Kishore, who had specially come to watch his favourite player, Virat Kohli.

The fans alleged that since more tickets were issued physically, they were seen in the black market. If tickets were sold only through online mode, true cricket fans would have got the opportunity to witness the match. The BCCI should take action against the SRH management for this fiasco, said another fan. While enthusiastic fans were wandering for tickets around the stadium, the LB Nagar SOT police arrested four persons for selling even complimentary passes in black, charging exorbitant rates at Gate No. 1 of the stadium. The police booked ten cases and shifted the black marketers to Uppal police station.