The second phase of ticket sales for the 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup opened on Wednesday, but overwhelming demand for the marquee India–Pakistan fixture caused the ticketing platform to crash within minutes.
The high-profile clash, scheduled to be held at the R. Premadasa Stadium in Colombo on February 15, is traditionally the most sought-after contest on the tournament calendar and was included in this round of ticket allocation.
Within minutes of going live at 7 pm, the ICC’s official ticketing agent experienced a massive surge in traffic as users attempted to secure seats for the blockbuster fixture. The volume of concurrent requests led to the platform’s servers crashing.
Although the ticketing agent later said sales would restart at 9 pm after users were unable to complete transactions due to “temporary technical difficulties”, tickets for the India–Pakistan match are still not available for purchase, with a “coming soon” message being displayed.
The 2026 ICC Men’s T20 World Cup will return to the subcontinent for the first time since 2016. The 10th edition of the tournament begins on February 7, with India facing the USA in Mumbai and Pakistan taking on the Netherlands in Colombo in the opening fixtures.
India’s group-stage schedule also includes matches against Namibia in New Delhi on February 12 and the Netherlands in Ahmedabad on February 18. The month-long event will be staged across eight venues in India and Sri Lanka, including Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Kandy and Colombo.
To prioritise fan access, the ICC has introduced record affordable ticket prices, starting at Rs 100 in India and LKR 1,000 in Sri Lanka. India, co-hosts of the tournament with Sri Lanka, will defend their title on home soil after winning the previous edition in 2024, held in the USA and the West Indies. Sri Lanka will be hosting the event for the second time, having last staged it in 2012.
(IANS)
