Cricket Australia (CA) revealed on Thursday that tickets for the ODI match between India and Australia in Sydney, as well as the T20I game in Canberra this November, have completely sold out four months in advance.
Alongside the unprecedented ticket sales for the Ashes, CA highlighted a strong interest from the Indian community in acquiring tickets for the white-ball series scheduled in Australia for October-November. The demand has been so high that 90,000 tickets for eight matches, which include the extremely popular T20Is in Melbourne and Brisbane, were sold out merely two weeks after the sales commenced.
‘Exhausting our public ticket allocation for the SCG ODI and Manuka Oval T20I four months prior to the series is a testament to the tremendous interest for the upcoming season amongst cricket fans. We are thrilled to see continued strong engagement amongst Indian diaspora off the back of a record-breaking Border Gavaskar series last summer. The forecast strong turnout of Australian and Indian fans means we’ll again have a fantastic atmosphere at each match.
‘There is extreme interest in what promises to be our biggest ever summer of cricket, so we encourage fans to buy early to avoid missing out on the action,” said Joel Morrison, Executive General Manager Events & Operations, Cricket Australia, in a statement.
Cricket Australia (CA) has reported that over 16 percent of the tickets sold to date have been acquired by Indian fan clubs. The Bharat Army, recognized as one of the most engaged fan clubs, has secured more than 2,400 tickets. Additionally, fans from India have demonstrated significant enthusiasm, purchasing upwards of 1,400 tickets.
Previously, Cricket Australia CEO Todd Greenberg suggested that special arrangements might be made to enhance interest in cricket during this period, which could include a unique farewell for Kohli and Rohit.
“For the first time in nearly two decades, Australian cricket will be playing international matches in every single capital city and territory across the entire country. There’s a lot of work going into bespoke marketing plans for every game in every city,” Greenberg told reporters.
The interest in cricket in Australia surged with India’s tour for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy 2024/25, which attracted record attendance for events like the Boxing Day Test.
“I think we saw real momentum last year on the back of the BGT series, some record-breaking ticket sales. And I anticipate that we’ll see a number of sellouts across the summer, really starting in August and going through until March. This might be a summer like we’ve never seen before, just in terms of the amount of content,” Greenberg said.
“If you think about the quality of the players coming, particularly from India, this might be the last time we get to see Virat Kohli or Rohit Sharma play in our country. If that’s the case – who knows, it might not be – but if it is, we want to make sure we give them a great send-off and acknowledge the incredible contribution they’ve made to international cricket,” Greenberg added.
Kohli and Rohit have announced their retirement from both the longest and shortest formats of the game, leaving them only active in ODI cricket, with the 2027 World Cup as a likely final goal. The limited-overs series between India and Australia set to take place in October and November 2025 may be the last opportunity for these two veterans to compete in Australia. Rohit is currently 38 years old, while Kohli will be 37 during the series.