Wellington, Sep 9 (IANS): The much-awaited return of India to New Zealand has created a huge buzz among cricket fans, with New Zealand Cricket (NZC) confirming that more than 50,000 tickets have been sold for the upcoming international home summer.
According to NZC, ticket sales for the New Zealand summer season opened to the general public on Monday after a two-week pre-sale period for Cricket Nation members, Sky customers and ANZ customers.
Several matches involving India are already heading towards a sell-out, with the second T20I in Christchurch having reached 75 per cent of ticket sales.
India are set to tour New Zealand for the first time in six years, with the two teams scheduled to play five T20Is, five ODIs and two Tests from October 22.
The demand has been particularly strong for the T20I matches. At Eden Park, the level of interest has prompted NZC to open the stadium’s sixth tier of seating for the first time since India’s 2019 tour of New Zealand. The additional seating will be available for the fourth T20I between the two sides on October 30.
The sixth tier has only been opened on a handful of occasions in recent years, including during the 2015 ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup and a men’s T20I between New Zealand and Australia in 2018.
The strong response is another indication of the excitement surrounding India’s return, particularly after the two teams faced each other in the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final earlier this year.
NZC Head of Marketing Tim Ellis said the growing demand showed the anticipation surrounding the India tour.
“Being able to open up the top level of Eden Park for the first time in years is really exciting and speaks to the swell of excitement building around the tour,” Ellis said in an official statement.
He was also impressed by the response in Christchurch, where the second T20I has already crossed the 75 per cent mark in ticket sales.
“Matches at Hagley Oval have always been well attended, but to have one of them over three-quarters sold already is quite remarkable,” he said.
Ellis added that NZC was preparing several activities around the tour to make the matches more engaging for supporters.
“We’re deep into planning for a number of events surrounding the tour and have some exciting at-game activations in the works that we’re confident will deliver a great experience for fans of all ages,” he said.
The India tour will kick off New Zealand’s international home summer before the Bangladesh women’s team visits in December.
