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A record number of Indian cricket fans travelled to Australia to watch the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy, according to a release from cricket.com.au.
The series saw a six-fold increase in ticket sales from people living in India from the previous Border-Gavaskar Trophy hosted by Australia in 2018/19. Over 6,000 travelling fans bought tickets from India in addition to the many who purchased through friends and family in Australia. The surge highlights the growing popularity of Australian cricket among Indian fans and their significant contribution to Australian tourism. India topped the list of international ticket sales for this Australian cricket summer, surpassing the UK and USA. The Boxing Day Test at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground was a huge hit among Indian fans, with over two-thirds of tickets sold to Indian travellers for this Test alone. A total of 837,879 people attended the series, the fourth most for any Test series in Australia and the highest for any non-Ashes series with nearly 5% of all ticket purchases travelling from overseas. In addition to attendance records tumbling at venues across the country, at least eight sessions averaged more than 2 million viewers with 40 sessions averaging more than 1 million viewers. Cricket Australia is committed to creating a welcoming environment for all fans. This includes initiatives like Indian fan supporter bays and the Summer Fest at select stadiums, celebrating Australian and Indian culture, and enhancing the fan experience. Joel Morrison, Cricket Australia's Executive General Manager of Events and Operations said, "We are delighted that Australia has become a pre-eminent destination for Indian cricket fans fuelled by the enormous interest in the Border-Gavaskar Trophy series," as quoted from a release by cricket.com.au. "The passion of Indian supporters helped enhance the electric atmosphere at every ground across the summer," he said. "We're committed to deepening our relationship with cricket fans all over the world and enhancing the fan experience for both local and travelling fans alike," he noted. "The increasing number of travelling Indian fans this summer highlights Australian cricket's increasingly important role in facilitating tourism and trade outcomes for governments and businesses across Australia," he said. Indian cricket teams will return to Australia, with the men's team featuring in three ODIs and five T20Is in October-November 2025, and the women's team in a seven-match multi-format series in February-March 2026. These highly anticipated tours are set to deliver captivating cricket, and Cricket Australia is excited to again host passionate travelling fans from all over the world. (ANI)
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