Rs 750 CSK match ticket goes for Rs 5,000 in black market in Chennai

CHENNAI: Tickets priced at 750 are being sold in the black market for 5,000 or more for Wednesday's Chennai Super Kings (CSK) match at M A Chidambaram Stadium at Chepauk. Only 40% of the tickets for IPL games in Chennai are on sale and the demand is huge. Online tickets sold out in no time on Sunday. Many who stood overnight in long queues outside Chepauk to buy tickets from the counters are now selling them at exorbitant prices. When TOI contacted a couple of touts, they demanded 4,000 to 5,500 per ticket. Tickets in black are openly on sale on social media sites.
The situation has led to heated discussions on social media with many fans blaming CSK for reserving most tickets for corporate sponsors. "Apart from limited counter sales, seats in only four stands were opened for online booking. Rest was given to corporates, celebrities, government officials and event administrators," said S Vimal, an ardent CSK fan.
He stood in queue all night at Chepauk but couldn't get a ticket. Many who got complimentary tickets did not turn up for the previous game between CSK and Lucknow Super Giants (LSG). It was disheartening to see the empty seats when there is so much demand for tickets among fans, Vimal said. CSK's CEO Kasi Viswanathan said they had a commitment to provide 20% of the total tickets to the BCCI and the Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA). Besides this, 13,000 tickets are given to TNCA (division) clubs.
"So, we are able to sell only 15,000 tickets and they go in no time. There is nothing much we can do about black market sales. We are committed to share these tickets with sponsors," said Viswanathan. Police recently arrested 13 people for selling tickets in black for the One Day International match between India and Australia.
However, there is no word from them on IPL tickets being openly sold in the black on Twitter and other sites. tnn