M. Chinnaswamy Stadium staff arrested for selling 180 illegal tickets during IPL 2026

The M. Chinnaswamy Stadium returned to the action in hosting the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026 as the Royal Challengers Bengaluru (RCB), defending their title from the last season, have shown their same dominance with the bat and ball. But recent news of black market ticket selling has not given a positive picture of it.

Bengaluru, under the leadership of Rajat Patidar, has made its way to the second position of the points table. In five clashes, they have earned four victories with their only defeat coming against the Rajasthan Royals (RR) at the Barsapara Cricket Stadium in Guwahati.

Canteen staff caught in black marketing racket during IPL match

A canteen worker at the M. Chinnaswamy Stadium was arrested for allegedly selling the IPL tickets at inflated prices, uncovering a large black market network that is linked to corporate entities and insiders.

The accused, who has been identified as Chadrashekar, was working at the Sri Lakshmi Canteen inside the stadium and was caught by the CCB (Bengaluru Central Crime Branch) while allegedly selling nearly 180 IPL tickets in the black market at prices that ranged between INR 15000 and 19000 per ticket.

This happened during the encounter between RCB and the Lucknow Super Giants (LSG) on April 15, as the investigation has begun after officials received credible information about a bulk purchase of the match tickets. These are then resold to the public at significantly higher prices.

Police seize over 180 illegal tickets in major crackdown

During the interrogation, the accused informed that the tickets were supplied to him by the Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) member, Ganesh Parikshit, who instructed him to sell them at a much higher price for profit.

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The member is currently absconding, and the authorities are launching a manhunt to trace him. The CCB has also registered an FIR against the managing directors of private companies for their involvement in the illegal sale of the tickets.

The seizure of a large number of tickets has raised new concerns about the black market operations in the high-profile games where several international players, including Virat Kohli and Rishabh Pant, were present.

Incident raises concerns over ticketing security in IPL 2026

The latest incident has grown the issues surrounding the ICC ticket allocation in the state. A major controversy has erupted after Karnataka’s Deputy Chief Minister, DK Shivakumar, announced that all the MLAs would get three complimentary tickets for the IPL games at the venue.

The decision got several criticisms across party lines. The opposition leaders also questioned the move, calling it the VIP culture at a time when the general fans struggle to get tickets. It also put a flag against the fair access of the fans inside the ground.