CWC 2023 Ticketing Crisis!! After what seemed like an eternity, the fixtures of the World Cup have been announced. And the tickets have been going on sale for all the matches in bits and pieces. It will not be long before we see throngs of fans from across the globe come in droves to cheer on their teams on their path to World Cup glory. Naturally, when the tickets for the matches involving India were released to the public, all it took was a matter of minutes for all of them to get wiped off.
And while Bookmyshow.com, who were the official ticket partners, had announced that all tickets for Team India games have been sold out, another website seems to be showing tickets available for India games. How can this be possible!? Is the BCCI watching!?
CWC 2023: What The Hell Is Going On With Regards To The SCAMS Related To The World Cup Ticket Sales!?
The website in question here is viagogo, which has been showing that more than 100 tickets are still available for those who are making the quest for tickets. Good news right? Well, think again. Or maybe, take a closer look at it. Turns out, these tickets are being sold for some of the most exorbitant rates that we have come across.
The India vs Pakistan game for example, which is to be held at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad is sold out as per Bookmyshow. But on this website, there are tickets available which start at a frankly absurd price of ₹66,000. That is, with the most expensive ticket for this game being one for the South Premium West Bay. These tickets are currently going on this website at an eye-popping ₹19,51,580. Surprised?.
Don’t be, because this is absolutely true. The price rates have been seeing fluctuations based on the availability of tickets, but it has been on an upward trend. These prices are in stark contrast with the England vs New Zealand game being held at the same venue. Tickets for that game are going at ₹1000, with the most expensive one coming on at ₹6000.
If you can buy a ticket for an India match at #WorldCup2023 on #BookMyShow then you should definitely consider yourself as lucky as playing for India. It’s been a nightmare for lacs of fans. Shame on @BCCI and @bookmyshow. The experience of watching a match at the stadium has… pic.twitter.com/nrJbSYjtw3
— mahesh kuttyy (@MaheshKuttyy) September 4, 2023
Can A Common Man Actually Afford To Watch His Team Play Now!?
This does not end here. It’s India vs Pakistan. It is obvious that these prices will be higher. Surely the rest of the India games will be cheaper than this, and at affordable prices too? Well, not quite. Turns out, the prices for the other India games at different stadiums across the countries are also on the side of ridiculous premium.
India’s tournament opener vs Australia in Chennai starts from ₹31,340 and has a highest price of ₹9,31,295. India’s game vs England at Lucknow starts at a whopping ₹2,34,632. Prices for the tickets for the India vs Afghanistan game at Delhi start at ₹38,877 and have a highest pricing of ₹2,34,622. This is a shock to the cricket-lovers.
This is because if you compare the prices of India games to the non-India ones, there is a huge difference between them. This difference is gigantic quite frankly and it is ridiculous. It’s a severe case of black marketing of tickets for the mega-event.
And that is not all. The cherry on the cake in the midst of all this is that viagogo offers shipping and delivery of these tickets to the doorstep of the one that somehow finds the means to buy these tickets. Thankfully, the charge for delivery is not on the premium side, with the cost coming to ₹400 for delivery and shipping of tickets. As we speak, viagogo has been flagged and the matter has been brought to the notice of the ICC.
CWC 2023: The System Has Failed The Indian Cricket Fans!!
While Bookmyshow was heavily criticized for the conduct of the entire process, with fans facing wait times of upto 9-10 hours, but even then not receiving tickets. A lot of fans expressed their ire at the cumbersome process. And the inability of the website to handle such a huge amount of traffic leading to such issues. Viagogo, on the other hand provided a much smoother pathway to gaining these tickets. But are these tickets REAL!?
They have an interactive map helping the user to pick the choice and number of seats. Further, it’s way faster and has better and quicker search results as well. However, with the prices so exorbitant, even a smoothly functioning ticketing process is not enough. This isn’t fair to the COMMON MAN of India; cricket fans who want to watch their team play.
It is a shame that the process of ticket distribution has been so cumbersome. And of the poorest standard for such a huge event in the country which gives an opportunity for websites like viagogo to take undue advantage in an unfair manner to fill their pockets. Something for the decision makers to think about in the near future perhaps?
