NZ Cricketer Urges Indian Cricket Fans

Cricket is the world's second most popular spectator sport after association football (soccer). Having originated in England, it became the country's national sport in the 18th century and has developed globally in the 19th and 20th centuries. International matches have been played since 1844 and Test Cricket began, retrospectively recognized, in 1877.

But, after Kapil Dev’s team won world cup in 1983, craze for Cricket escalated in India. If India loses any major tournaments, then turnout for the series will be in small numbers. Even though World Cup is happening in England, far away from India, we could see stadiums occupied by Indians in large numbers.

Indians fans dreamed to see captain Virat Kohli to lift the cup this time. But, unfortunately, Indian team lost to New Zealand in semi finals. Indian fans are said to have purchased majority of the tickets for the finals, leaving practically none for other Cricket fans.

Despite their team hurtling out of the tournament, Indians, who had planned their trips months in advance, have decided to throng the ‘Mecca of Cricket’ to watch England take on the Kiwis. This has resulted in a severe dearth of tickets for supporters of England, the hosts, and their opponent New Zealand. The crisis has left fans squeamish.

Many expected that Indian fans would be selling off their tickets, which they have bought in anticipation of Virat Kohli and his team playing the final. However, instead of reselling their tickets through the official ICC website, fans have resorted to alternatives such as StubHub and Viagogo, where tickets are being sold for more than £16,000 (Rs 13.8 lakh) which is more than 50 times their face value.

Under these circumstances, New Zealand Cricketer Jimmy Neesham has urged Indians, asking them to resell their tickets at the original prices through the official platform, and not at vastly inflated prices which denies genuine Cricket fans the historic chance of watching their nations play the finals.

“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,” he wrote.

The International Cricket Council have also appealed for fans who do not want to attend the game to return their tickets so they can be sold to other genuine supporters at face value, instead of selling them at exorbitant rates through unofficial resale sites. Supporters have until midday on Saturday to give back any unwanted tickets.