Dubai: Sharjah Cricket Stadium is known as the common man’s stadium. It was the stadium, which gave an opportunity for fans to have a glimpse of great Bollywood stars like Raj Kapoor and playback singer Lata Mangeshkar who were regular spectators for the Cricketers Benefit Fund Series in the eighties and nineties.
Now the fans are waiting for Bollywood actress Preity Zinta who is the owner of the Kings XI Punjab team.
“I am going for the Sharjah match between Punjab and Rajasthan Royals as I can also get to see Zinta, who is among my favourite actress,” said Tariq Mohammad, a fan who has taken half day leave from office duty to be present very early for the match on Sunday.
“The open air atmosphere of this stadium helps everyone to see all who come for the matches be it Bollywood stars or past cricketers,” Mazhar Khan told Gulf News.
“The full capacity crowd that watched the first match on Thursday has set the tone for the other five match days ending with a massive double header on April 27,” he added.
“We are still open at the booking office for the next game on Tuesday between Kings XI Punjab and Sunrisers Hyderabad, though the Thursday night game is already sold out,” revealed Khan.
The 200,000th ticket for the UAE leg was sold on Friday with eight of the fifteen match days already booked solid. According to him one of the biggest advantages of Sharjah is that spot buying of tickets is easy.
“We are expecting sales to spike on the days of the games. All these years spot buying has been easier. But just to avoid being disappointed like last Thursday, I strongly recommend that buying in advance would be a better option for the IPL matches.”
“The stadium just filled up in minutes and several thousand fans were unable to get in.”
Tickets can be purchased from the stadium, Abu Dhabi Cricket Club offices, Zayed Cricket Stadium, Abu Dhabi from 10:00am (local time).
And also from Dubai International Stadium Box Office, based at Dubai Sports City; Lulu Hypermarkets; Abu Dhabi’s Al Wahda Mall, Khalidiya Mall, Mushrif Mall, Madinat Zayed, Capital Mall, Al Raha Mall, Mazyad Centre and even online www.iplt20.com or www.ticketmaster.ae
