Cricket Australia (CA) revealed on Thursday that public ticket sales of two big-match games against India—the ODI at Sydney Cricket Ground and the T20I at Canberra's Manuka Oval—have all been sold out four months ahead of time.
This record demand serves to reinforce the huge excitement that surrounds India's upcoming white-ball tour of Australia later this year.
CA indicated that, in the wake of box office ticket success for the Ashes, there has been a deafening rush of interest—especially from the Indian diaspora—for the October–November India series. Within only two weeks of tickets going on sale, a whopping 90,000 tickets for eight matches have already been bought. The T20I matches in Melbourne and Brisbane have proven to be hot favourites among fans.
Joel Morrison, Cricket Australia's Executive General Manager of Events & Operations, said he was thrilled by the record-breaking ticket demand:
"Reaching our public ticket sale for the SCG ODI and Manuka Oval T20I four months ahead of the series is a demonstration of the exceptional interest for the upcoming season among cricket enthusiasts."
He continued:
"We're excited to see strong continuing interest among Indian diaspora on the back of a record-breaking Border-Gavaskar series last summer. Our predicted strong attendance of Australian and Indian fans is that we will once again have a great atmosphere at every match.
There is huge interest in what is shaping up to be our largest ever summer of cricket, so we urge fans to purchase early to not miss out on the action.
CA also mentioned that Indian fan clubs have been a key force behind this ticketing record, with more than 16% of tickets to date being sold by them. Out of those, Bharat Army has been at the forefront, snapping up over 2,400 tickets.
Demand from Indian-based fans has also been considerable, with over 1,400 tickets bought by purchasers directly off the subcontinent.
In a one-man show, Amit Goyal of Brissy Baniyas (an Aggarwal community association in Australia) came out as the largest single-ticket purchaser, buying 880 tickets for the Brisbane T20I at the Gabba. On their part, community organizations like the Indian Community of Gold Coast and Pakka Local have purchased more than 500 tickets for the Gold Coast and MCG games, respectively.
Men's India Tour of Australia – White-Ball Series Schedule
ODI Series:
October 19 – Perth Stadium, Perth
October 23 – Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
October 25 – Sydney Cricket Ground, Sydney (Sold Out)
T20I Series:
October 29 – Manuka Oval, Canberra (Sold Out)
October 31 – Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne
November 2 – Bellerive Oval, Hobart
November 6 – Gold Coast Stadium, Gold Coast
November 8 – The Gabba, Brisbane
With fan enthusiasm reaching record heights and tickets selling rapidly, CA has encouraged cricket fans to get in early and claim a seat for what promises to be one of the most exciting cricket seasons in a long time.
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