Published: Nov 13, 2013, 01:48 PM (IST)
Edited: Nov 13, 2013, 01:48 PM (IST)
Sachin Tendulkar’s 200th and final Test at Wankhede Stadium has seen many issues relating to tickets and its availability to the common public © Getty Images
The board has a lot to owe to the fans whose unflinching obsession for the game has turned it into a commercially viable product. However, time and again the most momentous occasion in the game is often out of the reach of the common man. Abhijit Banare looks at the ticket frenzy for Sachin Tendulkar’s final Test and explains why the common man comes off as the loser.
With three days to go for the match, the Mumbai Cricket Association (MCA) sent out a press release stating that 3,500 tickets were for sale online. The following morning it was nothing short of a lottery system with the official website crashing and several fans left in the lurch. The irony was further divided into two within three hours. While a section of the fans still couldn’t log in, there were a few fortunate ones who somehow managed to reach the payment stage and eventually couldn’t process it.
From the MCA’s point of view, the occasion is so enormous that it is difficult to cover all ends. According to a committee decision passed more than a decade back, a fixed number of tickets are allotted to the clubs affiliated with the MCA, which is 25 each to the 300 odd clubs. This excludes the tickets they are allotted to Tatas and Garware, sponsors after which the two opposite ends of the ground are named. And to top it, there is a commitment from the board of allotting two tickets to former Mumbai players for every India match at the Wankhede Stadium.
With such a way of ticket distribution, it is evident that the common fans lie last on the priority list of boards. Even the 1,500 tickets made available for public are being sold at prices as high as Rs 10,000. Former Mumbai cricketer Shishir Hattangadi in response to the high pricing said, “At [Rs] 10,000 a ticket for a common man, even God is not worth watching.”
Meanwhile, the leftover tickets are hastily distributed among the fans who jostle for every inch of space. And even when the tickets are available, there are high chances that a fan comes across that the tickets have been sold out. Even in the Eden Gardens Test, many fans complained regarding sold out tickets for the Test, whereas during the match, the reality was something different.
The irony of such things is not new. One of the instances of a possible Sachin Tendulkar record at Wankhede Stadium was equally mind-boggling. Before he announced his retirement in October this year, the biggest ever craze that had caught him was his 100th hundred. And to top it, the long wait made it further more exciting. On his home ground at stumps on Day Three of the final Test against West Indies in 2011, word spread that the Little Master was batting at 67 runs. Within quick time the Bombay Hockey Association (BHA) counter saw a huge frenzy for tickets. The following morning was worse. The daily tickets priced at Rs 100 each went for as many as three times the price. Even that was gladly accepted by the fans restless to latch on to whatever was available. In less than an hour, it was declared that only tickets worth Rs 3,000 were on offer, which many of the common public hesitated to try for. The next morning though, Tendulkar breezed from the 60s to the 90s in front of a half-full stadium; with enough seats to fill even in the lowest priced stands i.e. the Sunil Gavaskar stand while fans outside were told that the counters are shut.
Even during the ICC World Cup 2011 final, the MCA had put itself in a spot over unsold tickets. The priority for a board to be accountable to fans is extremely low in comparison to what you see in franchisee cricket. Its ironic how the franchisee cricket thrives on building a fan base and count on ticket sales. However, when it comes to India games, ticket sales are a fraction of the revenue for the board compared to television rights and sponsorships. And hence not much attention is given to it. Perhaps this difference in economics and loyalty makes the board less accountable in being concerned about the fans.
The board officials claim that the tickets given to clubs are distributed to public. While it might be too generous of the club to actually go out of the way and distribute it to the fans, it only further opens up enough scope for black marketing. At the end of the day, those who secure their tickets also don’t feel obliged to attend the match for all the five days. Many would jump into the fray when the Little Master would be batting. On rest of the days, even the iconic event is likely to witness some empty seats. The MCA could have made some exceptions of giving fewer tickets to the clubs and redistribute directly to the fans for such a historic moment, but that’s not their priority anyway.
(Abhijit Banare is a reporter at CricketCountry. He is an avid quizzer and loves to analyse and dig out interesting facts which allows him to learn something new every day. Apart from cricket he also likes to keep a sharp eye on Indian politics, and can be followed on Twitter and blog)
