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Virat Kohli questioned Indian team fans in a conversation with Ravichandran Ashwin after the MA Chidambaram Stadium was empty on day one of the first Test against Bangladesh.

The crowd was fairly modest at the start of play on Day 1, but it grew during the day. By the conclusion of the day, there was a sizable crowd who enthusiastically supported the home team.

While the throng was small at first, it grew later in the day. In a recent encounter, Ashwin questioned the lack of a crowd at the start of the match, wondering if viewers had difficulty obtaining tickets.

Virat Kohli Kept telling me that no one was coming to watch: Ravichandran Ashwin

While speaking on his YouTube channel with former cricketer and broadcaster Ashwath Bobo, R Ashwin mentioned that the ground was barren on Day 1, prompting Virat Kohli to comment on the poor fan turnout. However, Ashwin went on to say that since then, the attendance has grown significantly.

“The ground was empty on the first day. I was wondering why the ground was so empty on Day 1. Virat Kept telling me that no one was coming to watch the Test match. But from that moment, there was a huge crowd. I wanted to ask you why so many people struggled to buy tickets?” Ravichandran Ashwin stated.

Virat Kohli was unhappy with the low turnout on Day 1, and his early wicket-taking also disappointed the spectators. Virat Kohli got out for only six runs in the opening session of Day 1. The 35-year-old also struggled in the second innings, being removed for 17 runs.

The reason for the low turnout of crowd revealed

In the same video, Ashwath Bobo explained that the low turnout earlier was due to people preferring a day ticket rather a season ticket since they didn’t believe the match would last five days.

“Initially, when ticket sales used to happen, they used to call it a season ticket or a day ticket. A season ticket is when you get it punched on Day 1 and you can come back for 5 days with the same ticket. Many people were afraid that the match would not go on till the 4th or 5th day. So everyone had ambiguity about buying the season ticket. So when they came to buy the day ticket, the crowd was huge. The crowd was from the Pavilion to the Pattabiram Gate,” he added.

Ashwin later inquired if there was only one counter. Ashwath said that there was only one counter that caused the delay. He also stated that he witnessed a large crowd waiting in line owing to the restricted quantity of day tickets.

However, he also stated that the crowd remained until the post-match presentation on the final day of the match.

“Yes, there was just one counter. There were a lot of problems. When I came, there was a huge crowd in that line. But when I came, as you said, the crowd was scattered on Day 1. So, many people struggled to buy the day ticket. But as you said, yesterday was Saturday and the crowd was huge. On Sunday, the crowd was there till the end of the presentation,” Ashwath said.

Ravichandran Ashwin picked 6 wickets and scored 113 runs to win the Player of the Tournament in India’s 280-run win over Bangladesh in the Chennai Test.

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