‘Horrible’: At least 20 cricket fans injured in Hyderabad stampede

At least 20 people were injured during a stampede as cricket fans scrambled to purchase tickets for a T20 match between India and Australia.

At least 20 people were injured during a stampede as cricket fans scrambled to purchase tickets for a T20 match between India and Australia.

At least 20 people were injured during a stampede in Hyderabad as cricket fans scrambled to purchase tickets for the third T20 international between India and Australia at Rajiv Gandhi International Cricket Stadium.

On Thursday morning, approximately 30,000 people queued for several hours at Gymkhana Cricket Stadium in the hope of securing seats for Sunday’s T20, the first international match in Hyderabad since December 2019.

According to local reports, only 3000 tickets were on sale at the Paytm offline counter in Secunderabad and could not be purchased online.

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Cricket fans resorted to hopping the fence as local police used batons in a mild lathi charge to control the crowd, with footage of the incident circulating social media.

Several people in the crowd, including women, fell unconscious due to lack of air, according to local reports.

Seven cricket fans were taken to Secunderabad’s Yashoda Hospital after the ordeal, two of which were discharged after administration of first aid while others required further treatment, a senior hospital representative confirmed.

“We came at six in the morning and stood in line for seven to hours,” a cricket fan told South First.

“The ticket counters opened at 10am. A huge crowd was there to buy the tickets. The total road was blocked, and after 10am people broke the ground gate and rushed towards the ticket counter. Many people fell on the ground and were injured.”

Being a cricket fan is not always easy. https://t.co/ydvstZvVKS

— Peter Lalor (@plalor) September 22, 2022

#Update: 20 injured. 7 Shifted to yashoda Hospital Secunderabad. They have minor injuries. Treated at out patient level and kept for observation.

Paytm on Thursday opened counter at Gymkhana grounds- to sell tickets for the #IndiaAustralia match on 25th Sept

@NewsMeter_Inpic.twitter.com/U0r1ejd7F4

— @Coreena Enet Suares (@CoreenaSuares2) September 22, 2022

Horrible scene at the Gymkhana ground. This is the status of the fans, who went there to purchase tickets pic.twitter.com/SpC7XVKqAL

— Vamsi Kaka (@vamsikaka) September 22, 2022

Another cricket fan told AP: “I came at three in the morning for the tickets and I am going home empty-handed without tickets.”

Former BCCI President Shivlal Yadav condemned the incident: “Things could have been handled in a far more efficient manner.”

Australia won the series opener against India in Mohali by four wickets, taking a 1-0 lead in the three-match bilateral series.

The second T20 gets underway at Nagpur’s Vidarbha Cricket Association Stadium on Friday evening, with the first ball scheduled for 11.30pm AEST.