India Pakistan Semi Final tickets sold out already

India was willing to offer up to 5,000 visas to Pakistan, tickets for the high-voltage World Cup encounter have been sold out. Only a few hundred Pakistani fans may be able to land up in Mohali to watch the India- Pakistan semi-final next week.

In fact, government sources said all 16,500- odd tickets for the general public were lapped up by the time Pakistan’s berth in the Mohali semi- final was confirmed on March 23. It is unlikely that many Pakistanis applied for India visas in time or bought the tickets in advance because the country’s slot in the semi- final was not confirmed and Pakistan had earlier not played any World Cup match in India.

Home ministry officials made it clear that no visas could be granted now as 30 days are required to process an application from Pakistan.

“ The ICC does have 12,000- odd tickets for the Mohali match with it, but these would be reserved for sponsors, channel partners, clubs and associations affiliated to the BCCI, as well as guests,” a government source said on Friday.

Sources said India was not prepared to grant visas in a hurry and double-checked each application because Pakistanis had disappeared after coming to India for cricket in the past.