MUMBAI: A couple of days before the T20 World Cup opener between Pakistan and the Netherlands at the Sinhalese Sports Club (SSC) Stadium in Colombo on Saturday, Sri Lanka Cricket announced free entry for the public from 9:30AM on the match day. Entry to two grass embankments was made free and the SLC said the move was made only for the first match and it will encourage the public to come to stands and watch their favourite stars in action. It is not restricted to Sri Lanka alone. Initial indications are not very rosy.
For non-India matches, especially for associate nations like Nepal, Scotland, the turnout is expected to be minimal. Local associations are apparently distributing tickets to school and academy students. In the Kolkata match on Saturday too there are a few thousands in the stands. Being a day match is also a factor. Another reason could be Bangladesh getting replaced in the last moment.
The SLC is already bearing the brunt of Pakistan's government decision wherein it said that their team will not play the match against India scheduled on February 15 in Colombo. The no-show by the Pakistan team will cause a huge financial loss to Sri Lanka not only in cricketing context but also their economy as the tourism and hotel industry are expected to take a big hit.
Bandula Dissanayake, the SLC secretary, confirmed the decision to this daily. "We have opened the grass banks to the public. It's a curtain raiser and we want the public to come and enjoy the match. The decision, which was announced yesterday (Friday), was taken in consultation with the International Cricket Council (ICC)," he said. The SLC secretary, however, could not give the exact figures related to sale of tickets for the contest. "We don't have the figures yet as it's the ICC that looks after it. We will get it after the match," he added.
And the lukewarm response is not only confined to the Pakistan-Netherlands match as a lot of seats are available for the Nepal vs England match scheduled to be played at the iconic Wankhede Stadium on Sunday. As the website of the official booking partner of the event, BookMyShow, tickets are available for the contest in almost all the stands. The tickets are available in the price range between Rs 250 and Rs 7500. An individual can book a maximum of four tickets online. The website shows all the stands including Sachin Tendulkar Pavilion, Sunil Gavaskar Pavilion, Dilip Vengsarkar Stand, Rohit Sharma Stand and MCA Stand have vacant slots up for sale.
The price range for the India-USA match, as shown by the website, is between Rs 750 and Rs 30000. However, not many seats are left vacant for the contest starting on Saturday evening. Besides, unlike the Nepal-England match, an individual can book a maximum of two seats for India's opener.
Given the fact that nine associate nations will play in the current edition of the T20 World Cup being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, a similar situation may arise at various venues especially when the hosts are not involved.
A similar scenario arose during the 2023 Asia Cup held jointly in Pakistan and Sri Lanka with the fans staying away from even the marquee clashes between India and Pakistan. The Pakistan Cricket Board, the hosts, were looking after the ticket sale and set the price quite high for the Group A clash between the arch-rivals held at the Pallekele International Cricket Stadium. Most of those tickets went unsold forcing the PCB to slash the rate for the Super Four match between the two teams scheduled at the R Premadasa Stadium in Colombo a few hours before the start of the match.
"Tickets prices for the C and D stands at the RPICS, Colombo, will be reduced for the ongoing Asia Cup Tournament games as follows: C & D Upper Block: 1,000 Sri Lankan Rupees per ticket; C & D Lower Block: Rs 500 per ticket. The price reduction is applicable for all the Super 4 Games, including today's India vs Pakistan game, which commences at 3 PM. at the RPICS, Colombo. The above reduction does not apply for the finals of the Asia Cup 2023," read a press statement issued by the organisers.
According to the official website selling tickets, the price of a ticket for C and D Upper Block was earlier fixed at Rs 16,000. Similarly, it was fixed at Rs 3,200 for the Lower Block before the reduction.
Inputs from Gomesh S from Kolkata