クラシックよりも大きい！インド対パキスタンチャンピオンズトロフィーマッチの30,000枚のチケットは1時間で使い果たされました

Nothing is bigger than an India vs Pakistan cricket match in the sporting world. The International Cricket Council (ICC) had started the ticket-selling process for all of the India cricket team’s matches at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium, and in less than an hour, all the tickets for the arch-rivals match on February 23 were sold out.

India vs Pakistan, bigger than El Clasico

For comparison, the El Clasico game (Barcelona vs. Real Madrid) on January 13 of 2024 saw the tickets sold out less quickly, but not nearly as fast when compared to the India vs. Pakistan match at the ICC Champions Trophy. The stadium capacity for that match at the King Abdullah Sports City Stadium in Saudi Arabia was 60,000, while Dubai Cricket Stadium is half of that at 30,000.

The ticket prices don’t differ much either. Silver and gold tickets for the El Clasico game remained at Rs 73,958 and Rs 121,814. But for the cricket arch-rivalry, even the most expensive tickets, for the Grand Lounge, Dirham 5,000 (Rs 1,18,586), were sold in under 60 minutes.

“I anticipated a long queue, but the speed at which tickets vanished was shocking. By the time I secured my place, only two categories remained, both beyond my budget,” a fan told IANS.

This just shows how mad the Middle East is for cricket. Cristiano Ronaldo might be big in Europe, but he isn’t close to the star power of Virat Kohli in Asia.