Matchless swindle during sale of tickets for IPL match today

Cashing in on the frenzied interest shown by cricket lovers from Hyderabad and elsewhere for Friday’s high-octane match between SRH and RCB at the Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium at Uppal here, scalpers have gone for the kill by charging Rs 20,000 for a ticket priced Rs 2,500 and a mind-boggling Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh for the one in the corporate box priced Rs 10,000, virtually making it extremely difficult for the average cricket lover, whether local or otherwise, to witness the match in the stadium.

Sunrisers Hyderabad (SRH) and Royal Chargers Bengaluru (RCB) will be playing the match at Uppal, which is going to be the last of the matches in Hyderabad. The underhand sales of tickets at heavily inflated prices are reportedly in full swing right at the Uppal Stadium, specifically near Gate Number 2. Gangs operating as a syndicate, having purchased bulk tickets by manipulating online bookings, are now out to exploit the immense craze surrounding the match by brazenly fleecing ordinary fans.

According to disappointed cricket lovers madly after the tickets, standard tickets, originally priced at Rs 2,500, are allegedly being sold on the sly for anywhere between Rs 10,000 and Rs 20,000, while VIP Corporate Box tickets, valued in general at Rs 10,000, are being sold for a staggering price ranging from Rs 1 lakh to Rs 2 lakh. There seems to be no official attempts to put down this criminal profiteering that has surfaced after a façade of “online sales”.

A few days back, the official e-commerce website selling the tickets had shown (the website is no longer displaying ticket sales) the going prices as mainly double the predetermined rates. For example, the South East Second floor Corporate Box ticket price was quoted at Rs 45,000, for North West Second Floor Corporate Box, it showed Rs 30,000, the Ecolink South West First Floor ticket price was Rs 10,000, at Orange Army East Lounge it was Rs 20,000 etc. A Rs 950 ticket was inflated to Rs 2,000, while the one priced Rs 2,500 was increased to Rs 4,500. While the capacity of the stadium is 38,000, the website showed, “You are in queue… over three lakh people in front of you”.

With tens of thousands of fans desperate to get glimpses of their favourite players, black-marketing baadshahs have stepped in to squeeze cricket lovers in a matchless swindle by managing web operations. Taking advantage of the chaotic crowds near Gate Number 2, scalpers have been proceeding with extreme caution.

Like in films, where cops arrive after the damage is done, the Cyberabad Police have braced up belatedly to crack down on the racket. The police have since intensified surveillance by deploying plainclothes officers across the stadium premises. Senior police officials have issued a stern warning: strict criminal action will be taken against anyone found selling tickets on the sly at exorbitant prices, defrauding fans. They added that several suspects have been taken into custody and they are currently undergoing interrogation.

For context, ticket scalping laws vary widely by countries and region. Some jurisdictions or event organisers strictly outlaw the practice to protect consumers, while in other areas, it remains a heavily contested but legal grey area. Reflecting how smooth the operations of scalpers are, there are reports circulating online that tickets in premium boxes are accessible only through “high-level recommendations”.

There are reports that even some senior officials, including IAS and IPS officers, are actively lobbying to secure tickets. Die-hard fans with little or no hopes of getting a ticket are alleging that the SRH management is cashing in heavily on these high-voltage matches. They criticised that, apart from hiking base ticket prices, the management has been levying exorbitant “additional booking charges”.

Cyber fraudsters have also jumped into the organised loot through the release of a fake app ‘District’, which closely mimics a legitimate ticket-booking platform. Deceived by the app’s façade of offering ‘easy’ ticket bookings, thousands of fans purchased a large volume of tickets. Subsequently, the police identified the app as fraudulent and issued a public alert. Alas! Thousands of tickets had already been sold by that time.

The stadium authorities have made it clear that entry to the match will not be permitted with those possessing counterfeit tickets. Thousands of fans are currently in a state of uncertainty, unsure whether the tickets they purchased are genuine or fake. This incident has sparked a barrage of severe criticism directed at the IPL ticketing system and SRH team management.