Ind vs Aus T20I: HCA, Paytm playing hide and seek with fans over tickets

HYDERABAD: Cricket lovers of Hyderabad are in a quandary as confusion reigns supreme over the sale of tickets for the third T20I cricket match between India and Australia scheduled to be held at the Uppal Rajiv Gandhi Stadium on September 25. The excitement of the cricket fans of watching an international match at the stadium turned into disappointment as Paytm, the official ticket selling partner, announced that the bookings ended on September 15.

Shocked and feeling crest-fallen, fans converged on the Uppal Stadium and Gymkhana grounds hoping to get tickets offline. But adding to their misery, there was no one to give them the Information regarding the sale of offline tickets.

The fans have been waiting outside the Gymkhana grounds since 5 am over the last three days. Their efforts yielded no positive results and instead their crowding at the gates only added to the traffic congestion on the road. The authorities of the Hyderabad Cricket Association (HCA) locked the gates with a terse announcement that the tickets were not being sold, which caused commotion among the waiting fans.

The fans, mostly youths, could not contain their emotions and even attempted gate-crashing by jumping over the walls. They questioned the HCA as to why they were not selling the tickets directly at the counters, which was the practice in the past. The fans expressed their disappointment as tickets were not available on the Paytm app either.

"Ever since the tickets were released online, I have been trying to buy a ticket. But I could not get one. There are no tickets available online. So now, I have come here to purchase an offline ticket but the sale of tickets has not started yet and no information is also available regarding the same," said Kiran, an IT employee. There were also allegations that a major chunk of the tickets had been blocked and that was the reason why the fans on the street were being given a raw deal. The disheartened fans protested in front of the office and shouted slogans demanding tickets. It needed the intervention of the police to diffuse the situation.

Locals, who had bought tickets online, also had to stand in queues to redeem their tickets. "I bought the tickets online and had to visit gymkhana grounds to redeem them, but there is no response from the authorities," said Prasad, another IT employee.

However, HCA officials said that the offline ticket sale would start at the gymkhana on Thursday and online tickets also could be redeemed. "The entire ticket sale process is being handled by Paytm. We will soon announce the ticket sale," revealed an HCA official. "We have almost exhausted the online inventory quota on September 15. Please stay tuned for further updates," posted Paytm on its official website. "Limited tickets in Lot 2 will be available soon," the website said. They also said that the tickets could be redeemed at the Gymkhana grounds from September 22 to 25.