The big venues in India, who are also hosting 2023 World Cup fixtures too, distribute a major chunk of match tickets to affiliated clubs absolutely free. The practice further trims down the number of tickets which go on sale for a normal fan.
Former Cricket Association of Bengal (CAB) joint secretary Biswarup Dey says there are total 121 affiliated institutions which get complimentary tickets and some more are reserved for former cricketers, who are now members of the cricket body too.
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“There are total 94 clubs affiliated to CAB. Then there are some district clubs/teams which get tickets too. Now, CAB also gives membership to former cricketers so they too are part of the list now,” Dey tells CricketNext.
Not sure of the exact number but Dey, who has also served as treasurer of CAB in the past, says around 20,000 tickets are reserved for clubs, other affiliated institutions and more are reserved for former players.
“I will not be sure of the exact number but it will be safe to say that around 20,000 tickets go to clubs and other affiliated institutions,” adds Dey.
Quota for ICC and BCCI
Eden Gardens has a capacity of nearly 80,000 and one-fourth of those tickets are never available for normal fans. The 20,000 are reserved just for the clubs.
The count will swell further during the World Cup because all hosting associations need to reserve some tickets for Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and International Cricket Council (ICC).
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More than 2,000 tickets will be going to the two cricketing bodies during the World Cup for each game and other state associations can also buy 40 tickets per game from the association hosting the fixture.
MCA wants clubs to buy tickets
There are 349 clubs affiliated to the Mumbai Cricket Association and it is reliably learnt that they, in addition to the free tickets, are being asked to buy tickets at the prices set by the apex council. This includes the premium hospitality tickets and also tickets in general stands.
“How do you expect a club to not incur losses if they end up buying the tickets which MCA is asking them too. Do you think everyone will watch all non-India games? There is going to be interest for India vs Sri Lanka and the semi-final and already tickets for India-Sri Lanka games are being resold at a massive premium,” a veteran Mumbai administrator tells CricketNext.
Free tickets for members, affiliated clubs in Delhi
There are 110 clubs affiliated to the Delhi and District Cricket Association (DDCA) and each club gets 10 complimentary tickets for every fixture. In addition to clubs, the 4300 members of the association receive complimentary tickets too.
During the IPL, every member gets one ticket while the association has given two tickets each for international fixtures in the past. For the World Cup, it’s still not decided whether every member would get one or two tickets each.
Then there are complimentary premium tickets for former cricketers in the state too. In the past, the association has also given tickets to its domestic cricketers, across age groups, but it’s unlikely to happen during the World Cup.
Members of the Apex Council get a certain amount of tickets too and then the association also keeps some tickets for different authorities – Delhi Police, MCD, etc – which help in smooth hosting of a match.
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