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Bangladesh Cricket Board started selling the tickets for the first One-Day International between Bangladesh and India, which will take place today, on Saturday via a booth at the Shaheed Suhrawardi Indoor Stadium in Dhaka, which put the supporters through trouble.
No online sale meant fans outside of Dhaka could not buy tickets, and it also led to fan clubs of the Tigers not coming to the first match as it was troublesome to purchase tickets in huge chunks.
Despite several cricket boards, including Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Australia, and England, selling tickets from their website, BCB is refraining from doing so.
Ahead of the series, BCB President Nazmul Hassan, when asked whether they would be selling the tickets online, said they are already in trouble by selling them manually.
But manual sales have forced fans, who want to see the action live from the spot, to travel distances and stand in queues for long hours to secure a place among the crowd.
“I have been standing in line since 5 AM. Tickets are being sold, but the queue is not moving forward. If there was an online sale, we would not have to go through this hassle. If I could get the tickets sitting at home, I wouldn’t have minded spending Tk 100-200 more,” Rofiqul Islam, standing in line for a ticket, told The Business Post.
“I came here at 5:30 AM. If BCB sold the tickets online, it would have been much easier. It would have also stopped people from buying tickets from the booth and selling them outside for more money,” Abu Holayed, another supporter waiting for a ticket, said.
“I came here at 5 AM. I came to Mirpur from Badda. We had to wait five hours to get the tickets. If the tickets were sold online, it would have been beneficial for all of us,” Fahim Hosen Miraz, who managed to acquire tickets after waiting for hours, told The Business Post.
But for fans outside Dhaka, it is impossible to buy tickets from the solitary selling booth.
“I have always been a die-hard fan of Virat Kohli. Seeing him play will be a dream come true for me. Plus, I admire Liton Das and Rohit Sharma. So, seeing them bat would be a treat to the eyes. Tickets should be provided online. It’s unfair for the fans out of the capital,” Samip Katwal, a Nepalese student at the Rajshahi Medical College, opined to The Business Post.
Disgruntlement towards the unavailability of online ticket selling has come from all ends as it has become very difficult for fan clubs to cheer the team from the gallery.
Mohammad Akbor A Elahee, Head of Communication of Doura Bagh Ailo, said they would not be in the gallery in the first match as they could not afford to stand in line for long and gather tickets that way.
“We are not going to the first match. It is very irritating to stand in line for tickets as you have to stand in line hours before selling starts. Also, you have to deal with the uncertainty regarding the availability of tickets. It’s disappointing that even in this day and age you cannot buy tickets online,” he said while talking to The Business Post.
“Selling tickets online is not rocket science. BCB is either callous about the spectators or incapable. As sports fans, it is frustrating for us. We have been asking for tickets for a long time, and any sensible organiser should understand this,” Elahee added.
