Australia are scheduled to travel to India to play a 5-match ODI series starting next month. The first ODI will be played at the M.A Chidambaram Stadium in Chennai, also known as Chepauk. The fans in the capital city of Tamil Nadu won’t be happy to hear that the tickets’ prices are set to rise a notch.
The rise will happen due to the Indian Government’s newly implemented Goods and Services Tax (GST). A combination of 28% GST and 25% municipality tax will be applied on the tickets which would mean that the prices will rise by a massive 53% at Chepauk.
“We have no option”: TNPA official
While speaking to The Times of India, a top Tamil Nadu Cricket Association (TNCA) official said, “We all know about the 28 % GST. However, prior to this, we didn’t charge the public for Municipality tax for ODIs and Tests. We added it only during IPL and Champions League T20 matches. After the new regulations, we have to include it for Tests and ODIs as well. We have no option.”
“On one side, if we slash the price then TNCA will have to bear a loss. We know how tough the price surge would be for fans. We have come up with a few options regarding ticket prices. We will discuss that in our EC meet on August 25 and then take a call,” he added.
The India-Australia rivalry is widely loved by the fans of both countries. Each time these two teams meet, there is always a huge amount of interest from the fans as they turn up to support in the stadiums. Australia had traveled to India earlier this year for a Test series and even though there is a marked decline in the viewership of Test cricket, there were quite a few who turned up to witness the games live from the stands.
ODI cricket in Chennai will make a comeback after a gap of 2 years. The fans in the city are passionate about the game of cricket and they have been highly deprived of action as the IPL franchise Chennai Super Kings was banned for 2 years. Despite the rise in the prices of tickets, the enthusiasm of the localites should not decrease and we should witness a full house when India lock horns with Australia in the month of September.
