A senior Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) official has alleged that valid ticket-holders were denied access during an IPL 2026 match at the Arun Jaitley Stadium by “unauthorised persons”, who had obtained duplicate tickets through fraud. However, the charge has been rejected by DDCA’s top officials.
In a complaint to the the Deputy Commissioner of Police (Central District), DDCA director Anand Verma alleged that he and his guests holding valid tickets were stopped from entering the hospitality section of the stadium for the Delhi Capitals vs Mumbai Indians game on April 4.
He also alleged that the tickets assigned to him had already been used by “unauthorised persons” to access the facility. However, DDCA secretary Ashok Sharma dismissed the charges and termed it is a technical issue.
“When the complainant and his guests arrived at the designated entry gate of the stadium, they were illegally stopped and denied entry by the security personnel manning the entry point,” stated Verma.
“Upon enquiry, the complainant was shocked to learn that the two complimentary physical tickets in his possession had already been scanned and used for entry by some unknown and unauthorised persons,” he added.
Verma said that after uncovering the alleged fraud, he reached out to DDCA chief financial officer Manan Gupta to inform him about the unauthorised use of the tickets. He added that the matter has also been brought to the attention of DDCA president Rohan Jaitley.
“Mr. Manan Gupta, instead of taking immediate action, provided the complainant with the contact details of one Mr. Bhushan, who is stated to be the DDCA in-charge for handling all tickets…but no fruitful or satisfactory explanation was provided by him regarding the prior scanning and use of the tickets,” he said.
In response to the ticket fraud allegations, the DDCA secretary said the tickets’ barcode was not read by the scanner due to a technical glitch, and denied of any case of duplication of tickets.
“Delhi Capitals have communicated to us that it was a technical issue. Sometimes the scanner fails to read the barcode,” Sharma told PTI.
Verma said the “misappropriation of complementary tickets” is an “egregious breach of trust” and also poses a security threat to the games in the national capital.
“…it demonstrates a complete breakdown of internal controls…the collusion of security personnel in this fraudulent activity is a matter of grave concern…Their complicity in allowing unauthorised individuals to gain entry by fraudulent means compromises the entire security apparatus of the stadium, posing a significant risk to public safety,” alleged Verma.
Delhi is scheduled to hold five more matches in the current edition of the Indian Premier League.
