Cricket fans spend up to AED1,000 for Pakistan-India match in Dubai

Cricket fans spend up to AED1,000 for Pakistan-India match in Dubai. An India vs Pakistan cricket match is always a huge deal for residents of both countries and fans go to any extremes for tickets.

On August 28, a highly-anticipated India vs Pakistan match, which is part of the Asia Cup, is set to take place in Dubai.

Tickets went on sale Wednesday morning, reported Khaleej Times, but this time there was a twist to buying them. Fans who wanted to purchase passes for the India-Pakistan game had to also get tickets to two other matches of the tournament.

Khaleej Times reported the experiences of some fans who live and work in Dubai.

Shoaib Khan, who lives in Al Ain, told the media outlet that he used four computers simultaneously to log in to the Platinum List website for the passes.

“I was lucky that I managed to buy the passes within 20 minutes,” he said.

Khan spent half of his monthly grocery budget on the ticket. He paid Dh986 for the passes — which is over PKR57,000 right now.

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He said he did not plan on watching the other games and would give the passes to friends or family members. Khan was excited to go with his “lovely wife” to witness the match for the first time in the stadium.

Another fan, Shehzada Yousuf, said he waited two and half hours in the queue to get one premium ticket.

Yousuf, who spent Dh1,038 (PKR60,600) on the ticket said it “was worth every penny for that experience”.

“An India vs Pakistan match happens once in a blue moon,” Yousuf said.

He said he would celebrate at the end of the match regardless of who won because his mother was Pakistani and his father Indian.

Abdullah Hafeez, a Dubai resident, got his tickets in the first batch. However, he waited in the queue for eight hours.

He said he logged in at 10am and the sale went live at 6pm. Hafeez added that he had “just” 400 people ahead of him waiting for the ticket.