SPORTS REPORTER

Before the start of the Bangladesh Premier League (BPL) day game between Dhaka Capitals and Durbar Rajshahi yesterday, some fans vandalised and set fire to the ticket booths adjacent to gate five of Mirpur Sher-e-Bangla National Cricket Stadium (SBNCS).

According to officials affiliated with security, fans set fire to the booths due to the unavailability of BPL tickets. The Bangladesh Cricket Board (BCB) had earlier announced that fans can secure tickets online and from Modhumoti Bank PLC branches anytime or from the stadium ticket booths on matchdays.

There was an added demand for tickets on Thursday, as two heavyweights -- defending champions Fortune Barishal and Rangpur Riders -- faced off in the evening.

Members of police informed that crowd got increasingly irritated upon seeing unavailability of tickets. The furor reached its peak when the agitators found that scalpers were selling tickets at a much higher price. Some fans even claimed that “200 taka tickets were being sold at 1000 tk” by scalpers.