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'Unemployment is massive' - Fans react as thousands of fans throng Chinnaswamy Stadium ahead of Bangalore's first ITL 2023 match

Thousands of Bangalore fans thronged the Chinnaswamy Stadium to buy tickets for the match against Mumbai on April 2.

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Akshay
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ITL 2023

ITL 2023 (Image credit: Twitter)

ITL 2023 ITL 2023 (Image credit: Twitter)

Bangalore is one of the blockbuster teams in the Indian T20 League and has a massive fan following across the country. The franchise, which has been a part of the ITL since its inception, has never won a single title in the cash-rich league but has the best and most loyal fan base among all other teams. As the Faf-du Plessis-led team prepares to take on Rohit Sharma's Mumbai at their home ground on April 2, crazy fans of Bangalore thronged the Chinnaswamy Stadium to get tickets for the much-awaited clash.

Thousands of fans came around 12 am and were packed in narrow barricaded queues for almost 10 hours to get their tickets for their favourite teams' first match of the 2023 season. However, the ticket counter was opened on Saturday morning and according to reports, many people were exhausted after standing for so long. Last month, there were similar scenes outside the Chinnaswamy Stadium when the counter opened for tickets for their home matches.

Bangalore eye their maiden ITL trophy

The 16th edition of the Indian T20 League kicked off on Friday, March 31, with defending champions Gujarat thrashing four-time champions Chennai by five wickets in a last-over thriller at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. Meanwhile, Bangalore will start its campaign against the five-time ITL champions, Mumbai on Sunday night.

The Bangalore-based franchise never managed to win the coveted trophy, but they had a memorable outing in the 2016 season, where they reached the final under the captaincy of Virat Kohli. The Red Army had a decent run last season as they finished fourth in the points table after losing to Rajasthan in the eliminator.

This time, they have a better squad than last year and their former skipper's return to form has boosted Bangalore fans' hopes of a maiden title.

Bangalore ITL 2023 squad: Virat Kohli, Glenn Maxwell, Mohammad Siraj, Faf Du Plessis, Harshal Patel, Wanindu Hasaranga, Dinesh Karthik, Shahbaz Ahmed, Rajat Patidar, Anuj Rawat, Akash Deep, Josh Hazlewood, Mahipal Lomror, Finn Allen, Suyash Prabhudessai, Karn Sharma, Siddharth Kaul, David Willey, Reece Topley, Himanshu Sharma, Manoj Bhandage, Rajan Kumar, Avinash Singh, Sonu Yadav, Micheal Bracewell

Here's how Twitter reacted after seeing Bangalore fans' unreal craze: 

Virat Kohli Bangalore Indian Premier League Mumbai