IND vs SA, 1st T20I: Odisha police arrest four people for selling tickets illegally
Ahead of the start of the first T20 international between India and South Africa at Cuttack’s Barabati Stadium on Tuesday, several complementary passes have been put up for sale online.
One Instagram post showed four complementary tickets with the caption ‘DM’. Over Direct Message the user requested Rs 15000 for the Old Pavillion Second floor complementary pass. The post was subsequently deleted by the instagram user.
However that post was only the tip of the iceberg.
The Odisha Cricket Association (OCA) secretary Sanjay Behra confirmed to Sportstar that the state unit has initiated necessary action and the local police has also arrested more than four people on Monday for selling tickets illegally. However this particular Instagram member was still active on Instagram as of Tuesday.
The Barabati Stadium has a capacity of 40,000, of which 10,010 tickets were sold over the counter, whereas more than 2000 tickets were sold online, keeping the rest as complimentary passes for several stakeholders – primarily OCA members.
The iconic stadium which has hosted international matches since 1982 has been making the news for much of the wrong reasons in recent years. It has old cemented seats, a stark contrast to the bucket seats in most stadiums.
Spectators have time and again complained of the insufficient drinking water provisions in the stadium and unclean toilets. During the India-England ODI in February, there was a floodlight malfunction, leading to a 25-minute delay. It led to the Odisha government seeking an explanation from the OCA.
Published on Dec 09, 2025
