Reports: Sawai Mansingh Stadium officials accused of selling IPL 2025 tickets in black

The renowned Sawai Mansingh Stadium in Jaipur is racing against time to get ready ahead of the highly anticipated clash between Rajasthan Royals (RR) and Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), on Sunday, April 13. This is going to be the first match the historic venue is set to host in the 2025 edition of the Indian Premier League (IPL).

Notably, the Sawai Mansingh Stadium was established in 1969 and is named after Sawai Man Singh II, the former Maharaja of Jaipur. It is the home ground of the Rajasthan Royals, who played their first couple of home games this season in Guwahati. However, amid the excitement among the fans ahead of the high-voltage clash, fresh reports have surfaced, with stadium authorities being accused of selling tickets in black.

In a video uploaded on Rajasthan One's Instagram account, a journalist shows the condition of the stadium, two days before the RR versus RCB clash. She can be seen lambasting the facilities and asking a young man, who seemed to be a part of the stadium authorities, why the stadium wasn't ready before the April 4 deadline. The man asserted that the stadium would be completely ready in time to host the match.

Watch the viral video of reporter questioning SMS authorities here:

Allegations of black market ticket sales emerge

The reporter went on to accuse the stadium authorities of selling tickets in black to everyone, including the students. However, the young man refrained from commenting on this matter and kept on saying that the stadium would be ready before the match.

"But what will we get if people have paid? You answer me, who? The one who paid, bought the ticket. The ticket costs 20,000. It will be more expensive. And in the sun, you will see in the media how long the line of students were. You didn't say that students will get tickets for less money. You sold tickets in black. You sold tickets in black. You sold to students. You sold to everyone. So what is the name of the system? And why not?" the reporter asked.

Recently, the Cyber Crime Branch of Rajasthan Police issued a strong advisory urging fans to be cautious while buying tickets and advising them not to purchase from unauthorised sources. RR have not had the best of starts in IPL 2025, as they have won two and lost three games so far. Meanwhile, RCB are coming into the clash with three wins and two defeats under their belt.