Impact of India's absence in WTC Final: ₹45 crore revenue loss for host stadium Lord's, predicts report

As reported by The Times, Lord's had initially set premium ticket prices for the WTC Final in anticipation of India's participation in the Test match. The expectation was based on the strong performance of Rohit Sharma's team during the 2023/24 Test season, where they hosted Bangladesh and New Zealand for five matches before embarking on a five-match series in Australia for the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.

They went into that run of matches at the top of the WTC table and largely needed to win five of the 10 Tests to go through to the final. With India rarely ever coming close to losing Test matches at home to Bangladesh and New Zealand historically, it was largely seen as a foregone conclusion that they will make it to the WTC Final for a third consecutive time.

However, India ended up being whitewashed 3-0 by New Zealand in a result that sent shockwaves around the world. This followed by a 3-1 loss in the subsequent tour of Australia confirmed that they would fail to qualify for the final first time in the WTC's brief history.

The Times reports that the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) opted to lower ticket prices when it became apparent that India won't make it this year, with a focus on having a fuller stadium over the prospect of a sparsely populated ground with higher-priced seats. It is further reported that MCC members who bought tickets before the price drop have been refunded the difference.

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