PCA Stadium, Mohali feeling the demonetization pinch

The demonetization move by the government has continued to affect the ongoing India-England Test series as recent reports state that the ticket sale on the opening day of the 3rd Test between the two countries at the PCA Stadium, Mohali has seen a big amount of drop.

“If we it to the collections of the last Test match here. I can say that the ticket sale at the counter has dipped by at least 50 percent,” said an official at the stadium’s box office.

Diminishing interest in the longest Test format of the game and overdose of cricketing action has already caused a fatigue among cricket fans. Bringing in crowds for a test match now seems like an arduous task. On top of it, the demonetization has acted as a catalyst in scaling up the problems for the organisers.

The PCA, on its part, has tried to cope with the issue by keeping the process in the range of Rs. 100 and Rs. 200. But, unfortunately, the move isn’t paying off. Tickets of the match are also available online, where the fans have the option of paying via debit or credit card and don’t have to spend cash.

A few of the ICICI bank branches here also selling the tickets but none of the bank officials were available for the comments. PCA officials, when contacted, said that they will wait for the cumulative figures before making any official comment on the issue.

Talking about the match, England won the toss and chose to bat first. After a wobbly start where they lost all their top four batsmen to cheaply, Jonny Bairstow tow along with Ben Stokes and Jos Buttler led the revival efforts, taking England to a comfortable position by the Test session.