The final of the World Test Championship 2025 will be played at Lord’s, London from June 11-15. However, the Lord’s is believed to be facing huge losses due to India’s absence in the summit clash.
The WTC final will be played between Australia and South Africa as they finished on the top two spots of the WTC points table. India were in contention to qualify for most parts but suffered shocking defeats recently to bow out of the race.
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Lord’s suffers huge losses due to India’s absence
A report in The Times claimed that the organisers had earlier priced the tickets at higher rates as they anticipated India’s involvement in the match. But their absence has affected the revenue for the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), which manages the ground and its administration.
“Organisers had originally priced tickets at a premium rate, believing India fan demand would outstrip supply, but the absence of India has significantly curtailed the financial windfall expected by Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC), underscoring the financial influence of Indian cricket across the global game,” the report claimed.
The Indian cricket team is easily the most followed team in the world of cricket. The team is full of superstars and have a huge fan following across the globe. Wherever the team plays, they receive an unprecedented amount of support from the fans making the demand for tickets very high.
Hence, the MCC thought of increasing the price in order to manage the demand-supply chain. With the Men in Blue no longer to take part in the WTC final, the MCC has been hit with a huge financial blow.
MCC lowers down the ticket prices
The MCC was slammed earlier for the overpriced tickets. However, they have brought the prices down after knowing that the Men in Blue won’t play in the match now. The decision was taken to ensure there was a sellout crowd at the stadium.
“Anticipating India’s participation, Lord’s had originally priced tickets at premium rates, confident that the demand from Indian cricket supporters would outstrip supply.”
“However, once it became clear that India would not feature in the final, MCC opted to lower ticket prices. The decision intended to prioritise a fuller, more vibrant stadium over the prospect of a sparsely populated ground with higher-priced seats,” the report mentioned.
“The decision to be flexible with prices for the World Test Championship final was taken this year, with tickets now being sold at between £40 and £90—about £50 cheaper than they had originally been priced, accounting for the loss in revenue,” it added.
How did India fail to qualify?
India failed to qualify for the WTC final despite being in a good position to make it through for most part of the cycle. However, they slipped towards the end which severely hampered their chances of making it to their third WTC final in a row.
The Men in Blue have lost six out of the last eight Tests. They suffered a shocking 0-3 defeat to New Zealand at home and then lost the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia 1-3. The loss to New Zealand was particularly shocking given their impeccable record at home over the years.
Australia and South Africa made the most of this opportunity and qualified for the final as the top two teams of the cycle. Both the teams have an excellent fast bowling attack and the final is expected to be a thrilling one.
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