In preparation for the World Cup, the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and the International Cricket Council (ICC), who are the hosts and governing bodies of the tournament, have adopted a strategic approach to ticket sales. To manage the high demand for tickets, they will release tickets for non-India matches before making India game tickets available. This decision is based on concerns that the ticketing website could potentially crash due to the overwhelming interest in India’s matches.
This approach stems from a past experience during the 2019 edition of the World Cup held in England, where the website crashed due to technical glitches caused by a surge in fans trying to access tickets for India’s matches.
An unnamed source explained that the staggered sale approach has been devised to efficiently handle the anticipated surge in demand and provide an effective system for fans.
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The ICC released a statement clarifying that ticket sales would occur in phases to accommodate the expected demand and provide a fair opportunity for fans to witness the matches. For India’s games, tickets for matches against Australia, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh will be available on August 31, preceding the complete sale of tickets for non-India matches. Tickets for the remaining India matches, including the highly anticipated India-Pakistan clash, will be made accessible in the following days.
Here’s the timeline for ticket sales:
- August 25: Non-India warm-up matches and all non-India event matches
- August 30: India matches at Guwahati and Trivandrum
- August 31: India matches at Chennai, Delhi, and Pune
- September 1: India matches at Dharamsala, Lucknow, and Mumbai
- September 2: India matches at Bengaluru, Kolkata
- September 3: India match at Ahmedabad
- September 15: Semifinals and Final
Despite inquiries, the ticketing partner, Book My Show, has not responded regarding this staggered sales strategy. This phased approach aims to ensure that fans have a smooth experience when purchasing tickets and that the system can handle the expected high demand for India’s matches during the World Cup.