Cricket World Cup fan’s $350 seat was so bad his wife ‘refused to come’

AN American cricket fan says he feels scammed for spending $350 on a ‘premium’ ticket for the T20 World Cup – only to be given the worst seat in the house.

New Jersey native Jagan Vinyagam bought the high-end ticket for India’s game against Ireland at Nassau County International Cricket Stadium in Long Island on June 5.

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But Vinyagam, who is originally from Chennai, was randomly assigned a ticket in the very last row of the stadium, giving him bad views and zero shade.

And he has hit out at the International Cricket Council over the far-from-transparent ticket-buying process, per cricket reporter Peter Della Panna.

“You could only choose the ticket type, standard or premium, but they would not allow you to pick a specific seat or section,” Vinyagam told Della Panna.

“I found out where my seats were two weeks ago. I feel like I got scammed.”

Vinyagam, 48, is furious that fans who bought standard tickets got better views than he did while spending less money.

He added that the seats were so bad that his wife refused to join him at the game.

“My wife didn’t want to come with me today because she saw the seating chart and knew there would be no shade,” he added.

“I take my wife & family to three or four [New York] Mets games a year.

“My wife doesn’t even like baseball but she loves the fan experience at Citi Field because the amenities are great.”

The T20 World Cup has got off to a mixed start due to disappointing crowds at many of the games so far in the United States and West Indies.

The price of tickets has been a large part of the problem, with parking costing an eye-watering $200 for the India-Ireland game in New York.

But the scheduling has also been an issue, with a number of games being held during midweek working hours local time, which is tailored to the TV audience in India.

Many fans have sympathized with Vinyagam’s disappointing experience.

“350 bucks to watch a match played on a club level track… He has been scammed,” one fan said.

“Cricket doesn’t care about match attendance; they are only worried about the TV audience,” another added.

“This is the worst WC till date,” a third noted.

Della Penna also met another Indian cricket fan who regretted paying $350 for a ticket to the Ireland game.

“Met husband & wife, Daksh & Zeel, at Newark Airport Terminal A. They flew in from Toronto for India game,” he wrote.

“Daksh paid $350, sat top row of section 217. Zeel refused to pay $350, went to lunch with friends in SoHo instead.

“Daksh says he regrets paying $350 & Zeel is rubbing it in.”

India defeated Ireland by eight wickets in the group encounter.

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