Tension prevails at Gymkhana over ticket sale

With the Hyderabad Cricket Association announcing the sale of offline tickets from 10 am on Thursday, the desperate fans started queuing up at the ground from 10 pm on Wednesday.

Hyderabad: Tension prevailed at Gymkhana cricket ground when the sale of tickets for India-Australia third T20 match began at the counter on Thursday.

With the Hyderabad Cricket Association announcing the sale of offline tickets from 10 am on Thursday, the desperate fans started queuing up at the ground from 10 pm on Wednesday. However, when the ticket sale began at the counter around 10 am, the fans, who stood in the long queue, rushed towards gates, resulting in people pushing each other. The police present at the gate tried to disperse the crowd.

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With the fans going out of control, police had to resort to lathi charge which resulted in injuries to a few fans and the police personnel as well. The incident was so severe that a few fans were left unconscious. They were taken to hospital immediately while a few police personnel too sustained injuries.

The fans, who have been waiting for long hours, were frustrated with the delay in the commencement of the sale. Meanwhile, a few fans who got their hands on the tickets, rued that they could not get the desired tickets. “They were giving only tickets of Rs 850 and 1200. But we wanted tickets to other galleries but they said they were not available. So, we bought whatever was available. We can’t go back empty-handed since we waited for so long,” a fan said.

A few angry fans alleged corruption in the body for not putting all tickets on sale. “When we asked for tickets for a particular stand, they said only Rs 850 and Rs 1200 tickets are available. How come HCA released only these many tickets? There is no transparency in it. We demand HCA to explain this,” fumed a fan.

Meanwhile, the queue, which began at the Gymkhana main gate, stretched up to the Paradise signal. Only limited tickets were put on sale but thousands of fans gathered creating tension among security personnel. The rains that lashed the city also made the matter worse for the fans.

Earlier, the fans have been visiting Gymkhana for the past few days hoping to buy the tickets. However, the HCA announced the sale of offline tickets only on Wednesday night with fans hit out at them for lack of proper communication.