Indians fans from the UK and around the world were seen in great numbers during India’s matches this World Cup. While this wasn’t the case earlier when only Indian-origin British would buy tickets for matches played in the UK, now Indian fans are making up for almost 90 percent of the total spectators.
The ongoing World Cup suggests that Indians are willing to pay an obscene amount of money to buy tickets for matches.
So much that when India played against Australia, former England captain-turned-commentator Michael Vaughn made a snarky comment about the number of Aussie fans in the crowd.
So far I have seen 33 Aussie supporters in the Ground at the Oval and that includes the Team and support staff … !!!! #CWC19
— Michael Vaughan (@MichaelVaughan) June 9, 2019
Then that goes without saying that the matches India was playing, spotting fans of the opposite team was next to impossible as the whole stadium was ‘bleeding’ blue.
Indian fans were so enthusiastic about India reaching the finals, that majority of the tickets were bought by them. However, the Indian cricket team did not qualify for the finals but since fans had planned their trips months in advance, the stadium will be full of them to watch the British and the Kiwis take on each other.
But this has left the supporters of the teams which are actually going to play in the finals very disappointed. England has waited for 27 years to see their cricket team reach the World Cup final while the Kiwis have dismantled all beliefs of being the underdogs by beating India in the semi finals.
British and Kiwi fans were both anticipating that the Indian fans would be selling off their tickets. But instead of reselling the tickets through ICC’s official website, Indians are resorting to alternatives like StubHub and Viagogo.
Tickets are being sold for more than Rs 13.8 lacs which is fifty times of the actual price.
New Zealand cricketer Jimmy Neesham even posted an appeal to the Indian fans, asking them to resell their tickets at the original price through the official website.
Dear Indian cricket fans. If you don’t want to come to the final anymore then please be kind and resell your tickets via the official platform. I know it’s tempting to try to make a large profit but please give all genuine cricket fans a chance to go, not just the wealthy ❤️ 🏏
— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) July 12, 2019
He also added that while it is understandable to earn a few extra bucks, some prices that are quoted are absolutely over the top.
I mean, I can see why people would want to make a couple of quid and that’s fine, but the asking price of some I’ve seen is absolutely ludicrous. https://t.co/FwL2Mh7yx1
— Jimmy Neesham (@JimmyNeesh) July 12, 2019
Looks like the stadium is going to be packed in blue for the World Cup final and even if India isn’t playing, Indian fans are going to keep the desi spirit alive.
