India v Australia: Kolkata ODI tickets black marketed due to Durga Pujo

The tickets for the ongoing ODI between India and Australia in Kolkata were sold by black marketing due to the Durga Puja celebrations in the city. There were murmurs that Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB), fearing loss, released a few tickets in the black market. The news also looked true as the stadium wasn’t filled up as expected and around 30% stands were empty. The total capacity of Eden Gardens is a whopping 66,349.

The tickets that were sold officially for Rs 650 were available for 500 in black; the ones that were originally for Rs 1,300 were sold for Rs 1,000. Also many were surprised to see the empty stands in the stadium as it was expected to be jam-packed for the high-voltage encounter. However, it has been reported that due to the festive season in the city, many people opted against their wish of going to the ground to watch the match.

CAB rejects the allegations

Few women were found selling the tickets in black outside Calcutta Sports Journalists Club, a few yards from the Eden Gardens stadium. “Ticket 500 takaay niye jaan, onek gulo aache (you can avail the tickets for Rs 500, there are many),” said a couple of women as quoted by Sportstar. However, the women selling the tickets in black is not new in the city of joy. They were found saying that they were handed a bunch of tickets by a group of unknown people.

According to the same report when the woman was interrogated further she said, “This is common here, but the situation is different for this match. We usually buy tickets on the marked price and sell it at a higher rate, but this time, we were given the tickets at a lower rate by a third party.” But the CAB officials have denied the allegations and claimed that the stadium was sold out completely.

“We have sold all tickets and the stadium is expected to be full,” the official claimed. When contacted with the ticket partner bookmyshow, they denied of knowing any other medium of buying the tickets.

“The CAB and the BCCI management hold a few tickets for their staff, groundsmen and other officials. Once they meet their quantity of tickets, they release the rest to online. We have no idea of any other medium of buying or selling tickets,” an official said in an online chat was quoted.