Touts brazenly selling free WPL tickets at Brabourne Stadium

Touts outside Brabourne Stadium on Monday. Pics/Shirish Vaktania

Trying to get free tickets for the ongoing Women's Premier League online but can't manage to lay your hands on any? Outside Brabourne Stadium, these tickets are being sold for anything between Rs 200 to Rs 500. This reporter found several jersey and flag vendors as well as tattoo makers, including kids, selling free tickets for the Gujarat Giants vs UP Warriorz match right under the nose of the Mumbai police on Monday.

Three groups were selling tickets, a limited amount of which have been made available via certain sites, at gate number 11 and 12. The touts claimed that they earn more than R10,000 per day selling tickets outside the stadium at Veer Nariman Road, Churchgate. Some also stated that on the weekends, tickets are sold at higher rates. When this reporter asked them how they managed to get the tickets, they replied that they booked them online.

People wait outside Brabourne

According to the police, WPL tickets are available on the BookMyShow app and site. When mid-day tried to obtain free tickets for the Gujarat Giants vs UP Warriorz match, it showed that they were all sold out. Mid-day contacted Zone 1 DCP Hari Balaji on the issue of touts selling tickets in black outside Brabourne Stadium and he responded with, "I will send my team to check this."

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Tout 1

Tout: Kitna ticket chahiye?
Reporter: We need three.
Tout: The rates are Rs 200 rupees per ticket.
Reporter: But the words 'free ticket' are printed on the ticket.
Tout: Yes, but you will not get them anywhere else. All tickets are sold out. Now, the number of spectators will increase and we will sell them at high rates. Purchase them before the rate increases.
Reporter: It's too expensive...
Tout: At the eleventh hour, people will buy tickets at higher rates only.
Reporter: Can you decrease the price?
Tout: No. The rate is fixed at the moment - Rs 200.

Tout 2

Tout: Ticket chahiye kya?
Reporter: Yes, we need three. Do you have any?
Tout: I only have one left. All tickets are sold out.
Reporter: How much will it cost me?
Tout: Rs 100. Get it before someone else does.
Reporter: Okay, give me some time to decide.

Tout 3

Tout (a jersey vendor who's holding dozens of tickets): Ticket chahiye kya?
Reporter: Yes. What are the prices?
Tout: Rs 200 per ticket.
Reporter: Isn't that too costly?
Tout: Okay, take them for Rs 150.

Rs 500
Maximum price of ticket on Monday