T20 WC final triggers ticket pricing in Ahmedabad:Ordinary seat jumps from ₹2,000 to ₹15,000; premium seats sell above 1.5 lakh

There is great enthusiasm among cricket lovers for the T20 World Cup final match between India and New Zealand to be played in Ahmedabad, but taking advantage of this craze, black marketing of tickets has started vigorously. Tickets with an original price of ₹2,000 are being sold for up to ₹15,000 through social media and other mediums. While tickets for the luxurious President’s gallery are being quoted at a record price of ₹1.50 lakh. As the hours get closer to the match, these prices are likely to increase even more dramatically, causing disappointment among ordinary fans, yet in the frenzy to watch the match, many people are being forced to buy tickets at high prices. Black marketers active for selling hoarded tickets The final match between India and New Zealand is scheduled to be held on March 8 at Narendra Modi Stadium. Currently tickets are not available, due to which black marketers have become active. Tickets that were hoarded in advance have now started being sold in the black market. Agents say that as time gets closer, prices will increase further. Tickets being sold in black on social media Whenever final matches are held at the stadium, cricket fans make many attempts to watch the match, but tickets usually are not available. This is because tickets are booked in advance by the agents and when the final approaches they surge the ticket pricing. They start selling tickets 2-3 days before interesting events specially like a world cup final approaches. Tickets are mostly sold in black through social media channels. 6 to 10 times the original price Divya Bhaskar had a conversation with an agent selling tickets in black, who quoted prices 6 to 10 times higher than the original ticket prices. Reporter: Hi, will tickets be available
Reporter: Is there a ticket for tomorrow’s match?
Agent: Yes there is Reporter: How many rupees and how many are there?
Agent: Lower – 18 thousand
Upper – 12 thousand
South Premium – 36 thousand
President Gallery – 1.50 lakh Reporter: What is the original price and how much will you give it for?
Agent: Upper for 12 thousand and Lower for 18 thousand Reporter: Send photo
Agent: Sent photo of 8 tickets Reporter: 2 thousand ticket for 12 thousand?
Agent: I’m telling you the price as it is, I also got it from someone else Another Case
Reporter: How much will the ticket cost?
Agent: Which one?

Reporter: K block upper
Agent: Upper is 15 thousand Ticket Sales on WhatsApp and Instagram Agents sell tickets online through their WhatsApp and Instagram accounts where they initially just post photos with text saying ‘Tickets Available’. When people inquire about prices, they quote the rates. In most cases, the agent takes an advance or token amount for the ticket and then delivers the ticket by meeting at a specific location. Involvement of Some Box Office Staff? One agent even claimed that some box office staff members take out their own tickets before they go on sale and give them to outside agents for black marketing, while some staff members book tickets for themselves as soon as slots open. Cricket Fans Forced to Pay Any Price for Tickets The black market for tickets is very large. Currently, agents are active everywhere. Most cricket fans are forced to buy tickets in black due to unavailability through regular channels. Black marketers take advantage of this and charge 6 to 10 times the original ticket price. Some agents provide fake tickets In some cases, people get cheated even after paying advance or token payments. This is because fraudsters show online tickets to get advance payments and then block their IDs and numbers, while some fraudsters make color photocopies of original tickets and sell them for thousands of rupees. People who buy these tickets and go to watch the match discover that the tickets are fake when they are scanned.