A few days ago, tennis' Grand Slam event Wimbledon's social media pages put out a post informing everyone that tickets for the 2024 event will be going up for sale shortly.
The way the system operates in the West and at most major sporting events or even concerts is that almost 12-24 months before the appointed date fans are informed about the process to procure tickets. There is a ballot system by which fans can hope to procure tickets months in advance.
It also enables fans to plan their life accordingly, book flight tickets, and can also look to get proper accommodation in the host city. All this happens with clockwork precision that it is almost impossible to get it wrong.
The same is true for the FIFA World Cup that was held in Qatar last year. Fans and tourists planned their trips almost a year in advance to avoid the ballooning costs that can almost make life a hell if you are a salaried person.
BCCI Severely Delayed Announcement of Schedule
On 14 June this year, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) announced the venues for all home internationals (both men and women) till 2031! This even as all of us waited to get to know which cities would be getting to host matches of this World Cup.
It was only on 27 June, just three months before the start of the first game, that the BCCI and the ICC announced the schedule of the ICC World Cup 2023. But, even after the announcement, there was total confusion! The state associations had not been made aware of some of the changes to the final roster, and in some cities the security agencies had not been kept in the loop.
What that led to what was the change in dates of the biggest league stage encounter of the tournament - the India vs Pakistan game. After the release of the schedule, security agencies in Ahmedabad informed the BCCI and the ICC that they could not provide enough security for the match, originally scheduled for 15 October, as it was the first day of the Navratri festival.
It was a strange turn of events because Navratri is the premier festival of Gujarat, but oddly both the state association and the powers that be at the BCCI seemed to not have been aware of its importance.
Eventually, the match was moved to 14 October and the announcement was made on 9 August, one whole month after the schedule had first been released.
What that, predictably, led to was further confusion as being an important game, most fans had already booked flights and made arrangement for hotels for the match, according to the old schedule.
The change in one game then also had a knock-on effect on other matches and England's game against Afghanistan in Delhi was moved to the Sunday.
Then there was further confusion as Hyderabad police turned around and said they wouldn't be able to provide security for Pakistan’s first warm-up game either! Hyderabad ended up hosting two back-to-back games at the same venue, a first since the World Cup in 1983. It turns out that the State Association was not kept in the loop about the dates or the changes.
Former Indian cricketer Virender Sehwag, Secretary of Board of Control for Cricket in India Jay Shah, former Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan and ICC chief Geoff Allardice pose with ICC Men's Cricket World Cup trophy.
(Photo: PTI)
Few Tickets on Official Portal, But BCCI Also Adding More Last Minute
Just who was in charge all this while as this farce played out we don’t know. Everyone kept pointing to the other person and the people to suffer the most were the fans. The most odd of developments was that even on the day of the India v Australia clash in Chennai, tickets were being released for sale on the official site for the game, while the players were warming up for the match! This, while the official ticketing partner had informed one and all that all India games were sold out.
Then around the same time the BCCI, showing a big heart, announced that they were putting an additional 14,000 tickets for sale a week before India’s key match against Pakistan in Ahmedabad. Again, where were these tickets earlier? Just who had them before that they could not be put on sale when the rest of the tickets were sold?
The official ticketing partner obviously did not have enough tickets with them and hence kept putting out messages that they were completely sold out. But what about the BCCI and the state associations? Should they not be held accountable for the royal mess that has been created by them?
The farce however is continuing because more tickets for some India games have been put on sale by the Board. It is almost as if a bilateral series is underway where state associations and the Board are making changes daily.
This is a World Cup, where the globe has its eyes on India as a nation and its capability. Thus far the mess that has been created by the organisers should leave every right thinking Indian red-faced.
Non Spectator-Friendly Event
Hotels are hard to find, in some cases like in Ahmedabad the daily rates for accommodation, just for the Pakistan clash has shot through the roof. There are other issues like cost of flight tickets which is simply unaffordable for an average person. Just how can the tournament of this scale be so inaccessible for a normal salaried individual?
In any case, India is hardly a spectator-friendly country and this sort of issues further makes it prohibitive for an individual or a group of individuals or families to think about going to a venue in India.
Add to that the chaos of parking your vehicles and the excessive security around the venues it becomes a struggle to plan your trip to a sporting venue.
Thus far, the chaos around the tournament, except maybe in Chennai, has been par for the course. It makes one wonder if India is fit to host a major sporting spectacle. There is talk of India hosting the Olympics in the future. If this is the case with a smaller scale event like the Cricket World Cup, imagine the strain on the resources of one city when faced with the prospect of tourists streaming in from the rest of the world.
Not The Right Precedent
Major sporting events are a source of revenue for a host country with tourists expected to come in from all the participating nations specially. With issues like last minute changes to schedules, completely farcical ticketing system and other related issues, everyone is just going to look beyond India as a host.
Then add the cricketing issues like the awful outfield in Dharamsala which is surely going to end a career in the coming days. Even after the International Cricket Council’s own curator had rated it as average, we continue to have matches being staged at Dharamsala.
The other problem is in reaching Dharamsala via flights. The host broadcaster and the squads can manage themselves through chartered flights. But it is an uphill task for the other stakeholders.
Before the start of the tournament, during the warm-up games in Hyderabad, former India captain Sunil Gavaskar had pointed out the pathetic state of facilities at the Rajiv Gandhi International Stadium. That did not have any kind of effect on anyone as seats continued to be soiled and dirty making it impossible for many to enjoy the games.
A fan had shared a picture of the state of chairs at the cricket stadium in Hyderabad ahead of a 2023 ICC World Cup match.
(Photo: Twitter)
The India games thus far have looked full, but it is a mirage because at least 3,000-4,000 people preferred not to turn up at the venues. If this is the state for the India games, imagine what it could be for most non-India contests. The first game of the World Cup was a stark reminder that India is light years behind the rest of the world when it comes to hosting major sporting events. Even if you grant that 47,000 in a 132,000-seater stadium is not a bad turnout, still shouldn’t the venue have been a smaller one to give the message from the very first game that the World Cup has finally started?
The only one this ticketing farce can be saved is if Rohit Sharma and Co end up winning the trophy. Every other issue associated with the tournament will be forgotten if Sharma lifts the trophy. God forbid if that does not happen, all hell will surely break loose.
Be prepared to find some scapegoats in that case. Can you suggest some names?
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)