KOCHI: The ticket sales for Kochi Tuskers Kerala’s next home match began across the state on Monday. Having reconciled the issues regarding complimentary passes and the sealing of tickets with the Kochi Corporation, the Kochi IPL franchise received sealed tickets for Wednesday’s match against Deccan Chargers the other day. Given the poor response from fans for the first two matches, the franchise has initially taken only around 12,000 tickets for their third home match.
To woo fans, Kochi Cricket Private Limited has come up with an offer of a free ticket for every two gallery tickets purchased. “Fans will get a third ticket free with every two gallery tickets,” co-owner Vivek Venugopal told Express.
“The offer is valid for tickets costing Rs 400 and Rs 600.” However, the counters in front of the Jawaharlal Nehru International Stadium and at the Oberon Mall witnessed very little sales on the opening day. Tickets are also available at Federal Bank outlets across the state.
Meanwhile, the organisers are gearing up to take adequate measures to ensure that people do not get into the venue for free, like the last two occasions. “The police will ensure that people do not crowd around unnecessarily at various entry points of the stadium on the match-day,” Kochi City Deputy Police Commissioner P A Valsan said. The KTK management’s failure to strike a rapport with the cricket-lovers in the state and the high rates for tickets are being cited as reasons for the poor response from fans. Just over 10,000 tickets were sold for the last match held on April 18, between KTK and Chennai Super Kings. “The ticket rates are too high for common people to afford,” said Sunil C K, an avid cricket fan who has chosen to watch the matches on television. “Also, the Kochi team has failed to bring a feeling among Kerala’s cricket fans that the team actually belongs to them.” A section of fans have even come out against the high ticket rates in the cyberworld, despite the new offer. “But they still cost Rs 400. It’s really not fair. The last ODI ticket cost was just 200... Not fair,” said a post by Sidharth V Pradeep on the Facebook fan page of KTK. Fans also want students to be given concessions. “Please reduce the ticket rates … especially reduce it for students and fill the stadium with energy,” posted Vinay Balachandran.