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Narendra Modi Stadium (Source - Twitter)
The IPL 2023 Final ticketing procedure was poorly managed by the Indian Cricket Board, which caused a rush outside the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad, the location of the Indian Premier League final and Qualifier 2. The offline tickets weren't officially announced, but individuals who purchased them online had to provide the QR code inside the box office to get their physical tickets.
On May 25, Thursday, between 11 am to 6 pm, the ticket collection window was left open, which caused a mess outside the box office. The local police were called in to help control the crowd as thousands of people assembled around the venue to collect their purchased tickets. Huge crowds of fans flocked to the stadium, but many were forced to wait in the sweltering heat.
Tickets cannot be physically picked up on match days, which falls on May 26 when Gujarat Titans along with Mumbai Indians play in Qualifier 2. On May 27, the Box Office will reopen so that customers can pick up their tickets in person. The stadium can hold more than one lakh people, therefore there is a good chance that a similar spectacle may occur on Saturday as well.
However, a situation resembling a stampede has happened while obtaining match tickets in India before. When hundreds of thousands of cricket enthusiasts descended on Hyderabad's Gymkhana Stadium to purchase tickets for a Twenty20 International match involving India and Australia, a more grave incident occurred outside the stadium. This caused a stampede, in which some spectators were seriously hurt.
One of the Indian Cricket Board officials also spoke to Insidesport about this debacle and spoke about what the Indian cricket board is planning next in respect to this incident. He said, “Don’t know exactly what happened. We are keeping a tab on the situation. We are in touch with the GCA for assistance. We are in talks with the ticketing partner to see if e-ticket can be valid.”
Fans react as chaos erupts at Narendra Modi Stadium ahead of IPL 2023 Qualifier 2 : -
Total mismanagement in Ahmedabad for the tickets of IPL 2023 Qualifier 2 and the Final.
— Mufaddal Vohra (@mufaddal_vohra) May 26, 2023
Fans surely deserve better than this. pic.twitter.com/1T86QjhbsI
Online ticket lo.. gate pe scan karte chale jao.. offline ka jamana purana ho gya
— Abhinav singh (@Abhinav_tmk) May 26, 2023
Have always been vocal about the criteria of being asked to collect the physical tickets even when the procedure of buying them is online. Nothing has changed over the years. BCCI knows that the fans will anyhow fill the stadiums and they're not the ones who will have to stand in…
— Rahul Sharma (@CricFnatic) May 26, 2023
Horrible…. Despite the fact that everything is online, we still need to get tickets in in such a rush.
— Vipin Tiwari (@vipintiwari952) May 26, 2023
Still better than Chennai
— Tubelight (அன்பு செய்வோம்)❣️ (@Blink_Blng) May 26, 2023
Poor management by BCCI
— N I K H I L (@nikhilkalavale) May 26, 2023
BCCI treat fans like dustbin
— Shubman Gang (@ShubmanGang) May 26, 2023
Fans also need to understand: it’s because of you IPL earns, stop wasting your precious time. Stay at home, try to book online tickets, mila toh thik or else ignore. Don’t give your time to them by visiting stadiums for mere 3 hrs game.
— Sagar Khandelwal (@Khandelw13Sagar) May 26, 2023
One Stampede Accident will ruin lives as well as IPL image.
— Mostly Cricket (@BoliMocr) May 26, 2023
BCCI despite all its money has some really cheap tactics to hype the IPL fandom. They are lucky that India has a big cricket-loving population otherwise this kind of scenario is unacceptable in today's digital times.