On the opener game of ICC World Cup 2023 – which is underway in India – only a few thousand seats were occupied in a stadium having a space of at least 120,000 spectators.
England and New Zealand faced off at Narendra Modi Stadium located in Ahmedabad, and fell empty after which cricket fans around the world took to social media to press out the shock as the rows of empty stands blazing back at them.
In a post on X – formerly Twitter – the England women’s cricketer Danni Wyatt wrote: “Where’s the crowd?”
An Indian citizen – Jemimah Rodrigues – replied by saying, “Wait for the India vs Pakistan Match on Saturday, October 14.
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Waiting for the India v Pakistan game 😁 https://t.co/RBNOR2JDtt
— Jemimah Rodrigues (@JemiRodrigues) October 5, 2023
Delayed ticket release, last-minute changes anger fans
The cricketing fans have been criticizing the tournament’s ticketing process as the first batch of tickets went on sale on August 25, just before one and a half month before the mega event, make it difficult for fans to schedule their travelling.
One of the cricket fan who travelled well, expressed anger said that the ticket processing management is ‘nonsensical’, adding that, during these type of mega sporting events, nowhere in the world the fans have to struggle so much to get ticket.
How does the most populated country in the world have an empty stadium for the opening game of the World Cup for the country’s most loved sport? Ridiculous. #CWC2023 #india pic.twitter.com/vg35JCA4JQ
— Adil Ray OBE (@adilray) October 5, 2023