London
The Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) has come under fire for setting a minimum ticket price of 90 euros (approximately Rs 8400) for the first three days of the Lord’s Test against India next year. The price of tickets for the main stands ranges from 120 euros to 175 euros (Rs 11,200 to Rs 16,330).
Critics say that during the Lord’s Test against Sri Lanka this year, tickets were priced between 115 euros and 140 euros (Rs 10,730 to Rs 13,065) for some key stands, which led to many stands being empty. Only 9,000 tickets were sold for the fourth day’s play, which was less than a third of the stadium’s capacity. However, after criticism, the MCC had to increase the post-tea ticket price to 15 euros (Rs 1,400) and 5 euros (Rs 470) (for Under-16s), but it was too late by then.
After the match, England captain Ollie Pope said, “It was a good day of the Test match, but it was unfortunate that the stadium was not full.” MCC Chief Executive and Secretary G Lavender said that we will re-evaluate the ticket price policy for the fourth day. There will be a provision of tickets from 90 euros (8400 rupees) to 150 euros (14000 rupees) for the fourth day of the match against India.
MCC argues that India is the second biggest guest team after Australia in the English Test calendar. Due to this, the ticket prices may be high. The ticket price for the WTC Final 2025 to be held at Lord’s has also been fixed from 70 euros (6530 rupees) to 130 euros (12130 rupees). At the same time, the ticket for the ODI match between England and India’s women’s team in 2025 has also been fixed from 25 euros (2330 rupees) to 45 euros (4200 rupees), which will also be played at Lord’s.
