The highly anticipated showdown between arch-rivals India and Pakistan at the ICC World Cup 2023, originally scheduled for October 14th at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Motera, was generating immense excitement.
Ticket sales for this eagerly awaited event were set to commence on September 3rd, a Monday. It was widely expected that all available tickets would vanish within minutes, a pattern observed in recent years whenever these two cricketing giants faced off.
However, in the lead-up to the event, certain Twitter users made revelations that cast doubt on the integrity of the organizers and Bookmyshow, the official ticket partner for the World Cup.
The Narendra Modi Stadium, located in Ahmedabad, underwent extensive renovations in 2020, becoming the largest cricketing venue globally with a staggering maximum capacity of 132,000 spectators, surpassing all other international cricket venues by a significant margin.
Shockingly, a user claimed that upon investigating the ticket interface, it indicated that a mere 8,332 tickets were genuinely available to fans. This raised suspicions that the remaining tickets had possibly been illicitly reserved or allocated to various stakeholders.
I have looked at API response of bookmyshow for IndvPak worldcup match on October 14. Total of 8334 tickets in 15 blocks have been made available in a stadium with a capacity of 132000.@bookmyshow @ICC @BCCI @mufaddal_vohra @allaboutcric_ #scam #INDvPAK #worldcuptickets pic.twitter.com/SHkI4cofrs
— Sukhmanjit Singh (@sandhu__sukhman) September 3, 2023
These rumors ignited a furious outcry on Twitter, intensifying the already substantial criticism leveled at the World Cup management. The management had faced previous backlash for releasing the tournament schedule only two months prior to the event and subsequently making last-minute adjustments to their plans.