Tickets sold out for CSK’s first home match at Chepauk

After two years, Chennai Super Kings returns to the IPL fold and the fan base of the club has stayed intact during the break. Proof of that could be seen in the crowds that turned up to see the training sessions that started on March 22 here at the M.A. Chidambaram Stadium.

On Sunday, close to 15,000 people turned up for a practice match, so it was no surprise when people camped outside the stadium since the early hours of Monday to buy tickets for CSK’s first home match against Kolkata Knight Riders coming up on April 10.

Ticket sales started at 9.30 a.m. and the queue stretched from the Victoria Hostel Road, where the ticket counters were located, up to Wallajah Road. By 3 p.m. tickets for every stand except the Pavilion Terrace were sold out.

The cheapest tickets costing ₹1,300 (C, D and E lower stands) for the first match, were made available only at the counters while tickets for the other stands and hospitality boxes were available online too.

Most of the fans were unanimous in stressing that their main attraction was M.S. Dhoni, the CSK skipper. “I came here at 4 a.m. and have come with four of my friends. We want to see Dhoni lead the side once again and we have waited for this moment for two years. We are sure he will win the trophy for us,” said a fan from Anna Nagar.

But a dampener for the fans has been the steep price of the tickets. Chennai has the second most expensive ticket rates in the country at ₹1,300 after Bengaluru, where the minimum is ₹1,700. In contrast, Kolkata has the cheapest ones, starting at ₹400, with Jaipur and Hyderabad, starting from just ₹500.

Entertainment tax

The reason for the high price is the 25% entertainment tax levied by the State government, in addition to 28% GST. The base price of the ticket is fixed at ₹762 and with taxes it adds up to ₹1,300. Despite the high prices and the scorching heat, come next Tuesday, expect a packed house to welcome its favourite club back in its den.