India vs Pakistan, Asia Cup 2025: Why is there Slow Ticket Sales for High-Voltage Clash? Reason Revealed

Ticket sales for the highly anticipated Asia Cup 2025 clash between India and Pakistan in Dubai have been surprisingly slow, leaving organizers and fans puzzled ahead of the high-voltage encounter.

Team India and Pakistan will renew their cricketing rivalry when they face off in a high-voltage clash at the Dubai International Stadium on Sunday, September 14. The clash between the two sides is the biggest in the ongoing Asia Cup 2025, which began on September 10.

India and Pakistan will lock horns for the first time since the heinous Pahalgam terror attack and subsequent Indian defence forces’ successful Operation Sindoor in April. Given their rivalry and cross-border tensions between the two nations since the deadly terror attack in Pahalgam, anticipation for the clash is expected, with fans expecting nothing short of an electric atmosphere in Dubai.

The last face-off between India and Pakistan was in the Champions Trophy this year, where the Men in Blue defeated Mohammad Rizwan-led by six wickets at the Dubai International Stadium.

Slump in ticket sales for high-voltage clash

As Team India and Pakistan are set to lock horns in the much-anticipated clash post Pahalgam terror attack in Dubai on Sunday, the sale of tickets has surprisingly been sluggish. Given the rivalry between the two arch-rivals and their face-off restricted to only multi-nation tournaments, there was expected to be a sellout, making the delay in ticket sales all the more surprising.

The ticket price for the Asia Cup 2025 clash between India and Pakistan starts from INR 10,000 for General East Corner and soars up to over INR 2.5 lakh for VIP suites, contributing to the slower-than-expected ticket sales for the high-voltage clash.

The Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Team India are facing backlash from the Indian public for going ahead with the clash against Pakistan, especially in the aftermath of the Pahalgam terror attack and subsequent call for all sporting engagements with the rival nation, raising questions about the timing and sensitivity of the match.

However, BCCI secretary Devajit Saikia confirmed that the Indian government permits participation in multi-nation tournaments involving countries with strained bilateral relations.

Why are ticket sales at a slow pace for the India vs Pakistan clash?

The slow pace of sales of tickets for the upcoming clash between India and Pakistan has left the Emirates Cricket Board, the organizers of the Asia Cup 2025, surprised, as the match between the two teams would often be expected to sell out instantly, given the intense rivalry and fan frenzy surrounding any India-Pakistan encounter.

Speaking to the ANI, an official of the Emirates Board stated that the absence of Indian batting stalwarts, Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli, was cited as the reason for the slower ticket sales for the high-voltage clash in Dubai.

“We are surprised that the flow of sales for India vs Pakistan is much low, till the time we sold out with lower stands only, but the upper and top tear stands are still on sale,” An Emirates Board official said.

“In the Champions Trophy for the same match, we had a sale two times in a single day, like we opened the ticket window at 2 pm and 4 pm and we were sold out that time in just less than 4 minutes, but this time craze is very dull, it might be it's because of the absence of Rohit and Virat." An Emirates Board official said.

Rohit Sharma and Virat Kohli were part of India’s Asia Cup-winning campaign in 2023, defeating Sri Lanka in the final. Since the ongoing edition of the continental tournament is in the T20 format, neither of the legends of Indian cricket is in action this time as they retired from T20Is after the Men in Blue’s T20 World Cup triumph last year.