On Tuesday, cricket enthusiasts who are Mastercard holders got the exciting opportunity to grab early tickets for the much-awaited ICC Cricket World Cup. The chance to secure these tickets kicked off on the BookMyShow booking platform.
Ticket sales for the long-awaited ODI World Cup officially began on Friday, but it was anything but smooth sailing for anxious fans attempting to secure their spots. The official website, where tickets were sold, threw a little tantrum, remaining inaccessible for 35 to 40 minutes.
The initial day of ticket sales was reserved for matches not involving India, including the warm-up games. However, the whole procedure was due to commence at 8 pm local time, and as soon as the clock hit that hour, the ‘Bookmyshow’ application decided to join the party, crumbling under the weight of the immense rush of fans wanting to nab their tickets.
About thirty minutes after the ticket sales began, the website finally came to life. However, by that period, a large number of supporters had already ran out of patience. Nilesh G remarked on X, previously known as Twitter, “The ticket sales for matches other than India were expected to commence at 8 PM. It’s already 8:08 PM, and the BookMyShow app has crashed. This is regarding cricket in India. I can’t help but wonder what will unfold when tickets for India’s game are put up for sale.”
Supporters have addressed criticism towards the organizers by criticizing their management of ticket sales and the scheduling for the 2023 ODI World Cup, which marks India’s first hosting since 2011.
The BCCI and ICC had opted for a staggered sale process to offer a smooth experience to the fans. “This is the level of preparedness @bookmyshow has for a World Cup! Sorry @ICC but it seems like your ticketing partners are just not up to the task,” wrote another X user Arka Dyuti Palit.
“This is really frustrating – after such a delayed announcement of ticket sales, if the basic systems infrastructure is not in place, it speaks very poorly of the mighty BCCI and ICC. Events like these are organised the world over and systems like lotteries and ticket queues are common. Why are those not in pace for such a large event,” Delhi-based fan Atirav Kapur told PTI on Friday.
