Online black market ticket sale scandal transpires in Cuttack during IND vs SA 2022 2nd T20I - Sources
A potential black market involvement during ticket sales for the second T20I between India and South Africa in Cuttack has reportedly been detected.
The Barabati Stadium in Cuttack played host to the contest on June 12. While the venue witnessed a full-capacity crowd for the Men In Blue's four-wicket defeat, the majority were reportedly holding black tickets in the stands.
According to a report by the New Indian Express, the Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) allotted 29,154 out of the 44,234 seats in the stadium for the contest. Out of those, around 8,000 seats were designated for 8,000 for affiliated units/ office bearers/ BCCI affiliated units. Meanwhile, the remaining tickets were split between online and offline channel sales for the general public.
Hon'ble Minister Sri Naveen Patnaik has purchased the first ticket from OCA for the T20 International between India & South Africa. The match is scheduled on 12th June, 2022 at Barabati Stadium, #Cuttack. #t20cricket https://t.co/D4ntwlpWet
Close to 12,093 tickets were available to be purchased at the stadium through nine designated counters. The remaining 9,000 tickets were made available for fans to purchase through online portals.
The offline tickets were sold out within the day, while the OCA kept their counters open on the stadium premises anticipating two days' worth of traffic. As a result, several ardent fans were denied the opportunity to purchase a ticket fairly and spectate the match in the stands.
"They were selling gallery No. 2 tickets worth Rs 700 at Rs 5,000 in the black market" - Sources
The black market amassed a large amount of money by initially gathering as many tickets as possible. It is being reported that they recruited brokers and labour-class individuals to buy tickets for them through the offline portal. The tickets were then sold at inflated prices through communication on WhatsApp or their website.
India vs South Africa: Police in #Cuttack resorted to lathi charges after a stampede-like situation occurred near ticket counters of the #Barabati stadium on Thursday. @dcp_cuttack @BCCI
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A maximum of two tickets were allowed to be purchased by a single user through the offline portal. However, people were able to buy up to 10 tickets from the black market website. In addition to general tickets, the people in question were able to get their hands on complimentary passes as well.
Tickets for Gallery No. 2 at the Barabati Stadium, which were worth ₹700 each, were being sold by the black marketers at ₹5,000. Similarly, ₹900 Gallery No. 3 tickets were priced over ₹5,000 through the illegal system. Lastly, Gallery No. 4 tickets worth ₹7,000 were sold for over double their value.
The New Indian Express report added that a senior police inspector provided a comment confirming their intent to pursue the blackmarketing incident.