No IPL tickets available, but being offered on social media

Tickets for the IPL match between Punjab Kings XI and Lucknow Super Giants scheduled at Dharamsala international cricket stadium on May 4 are not available online or offline. But many people are offering the tickets for the match on social media. This has raised suspicion that someone may be trying to sell tickets in black.

The director of Himachal Pradesh Cricket Association (HPCA), Sanjay Sharma, said that tickets were sold both on online and offline platforms in a transparent manner. If some people have exploited the system and are trying to sell tickets at a premium on social media, it is for the police to check it out, he said.

Dharamsala, being a tourist spot, attracts large numbers of cricket spectators for IPL matches. Sources said that about 20 per cent of the tickets are given in form of passes by the organisers to the local administration and other pressure groups like political leaders and their followers across the state.

The hoteliers allege that many times due to free passes distributed by the HPCA and organizers, many tourists do not get tickets. They had appealed to IPL organisers to sell more tickets to spectators so that the matches could boost tourism in the area.

Dharamsala international cricket stadium has a seating capacity of 22,000. Generally during the IPL matches, the stadium is packed. The police and local administration have to make special arrangements for IPL matches at Dharamsala. Additional police personal are deployed to manage traffic during match days. After the match, the scenario is chaotic as hundreds of vehicles of tourists rush towards McLeodganj, leading to traffic jams.

Dharamsala will host three IPL matches in May.