India tour of New Zealand drives record early ticket sales

India’s upcoming multi-format tour of New Zealand has driven record early demand, with 26,000 tickets sold in the first 48 hours of the host board’s pre-sale.

The 12-match tour, beginning in October, has emerged as the biggest draw in New Zealand Cricket’s Cricket Nation members’ pre-sale, which went live on Monday (August 24).

The white-ball matches at Auckland’s Eden Park have led the way in terms of tickets sold, while strong demand has also been reported from Christchurch and Wellington.

Hagley Oval, which has a capacity of 9,000, is expected to sell out for the first two T20 Internationals on October 22 and 24 as well as the second and final Test from November 27 to December 1.

Early sales have also been strong for matches in Wellington, which will host the third T20I and second ODI, while the Basin Reserve will stage the opening Test from November 19.

New Zealand Cricket chief marketing and commercial officer Glenn Critchley said fans had responded to the call to secure tickets early.

“Our message to fans from the start has been to get organised to avoid missing out -and the record sales in the first two days proves many have listened,” Critchley was quoted as saying by NZC.

“This is a rare chance for Kiwis to experience the incredible buzz of a game of cricket involving India and watch some of the biggest sport stars on the planet compete.

“We’ve deliberately kept the ticket prices the same as the previous season, and at under $30 a ticket using our Cricket Nation access code, “We’re delighted fans are getting in early to secure their seats and with the general public sale still 11 days away, our message remains the same – get organised and don’t miss out.” The general public sale will begin on September 7, but NZC said fans can access the pre-sale and receive a 15 per cent discount by signing up for Cricket Nation.