The 2026 T20 World Cup began with limited interest, but exciting cricket, close games and the large attendance of fans have made it an outright success already.
Octobers will come, and Octobers will go, but no October will quite resemble October 2023. It was meant to be the month Indian cricket would carry in its bloodstream for years, the kind that acquires nostalgia even before it ends. Yet somewhere between anticipation and reality, a quiet dissonance emerged when a colleague recently remarked that the edition did not really “feel like a World Cup”. Initially taken aback, there was merit in the observation. The opening match of that tournament, between England and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium, the largest cricket venue in the world, was striking not for its spectacle but for the empty seats that framed it. Through the weeks that followed, especially in fixtures without India, the tournament often felt curiously local for an event that was supposed to be global.
Three years later, walking into the Arun Jaitley Stadium on a weekday morning during the ongoing 2026 T20 World Cup, the contrast felt almost jarring. Around 13,500 spectators had turned up at 11 am to watch a neutral fixture involving South Africa and the UAE. Office-goers were squeezing in a few hours before work, college students had flags draped over their shoulders, and families were treating the outing like a festival rather than a sporting commitment. The numbers were not extraordinary in isolation, but the intent to take time out to watch the game was.
'The World Cup is perfect timing'
One of the spectators, 27-year-old Rafiq Ansari from Loni on the outskirts of Delhi, had travelled nearly 25 kilometres with his wife for the game. He works as a security guard at a shopping mall in Ghaziabad, and the timing fits neatly into his routine. “I got married last year,” he said. “She knows how much I love cricket, but she has never seen a match in a stadium. Because this game started at 11 in the morning, we could come, watch, and still reach home before evening. I will go for my duty at 5 pm. It is perfect timing.”
Stories like his explain why last weekend’s attendance figures across Kolkata and Ahmedabad approached 95,000 across just two venues, for games that did not involve India. Ahmedabad, criticised for its subdued atmosphere during the 2023 ODI World Cup final, felt transformed, with nearly 55,000 spectators attending the South Africa-New Zealand clash, while the England-Scotland clash was nearly a full-house too. Elsewhere, the night game featuring the Netherlands and the USA in Chennai saw nearly 18,000 spectators, while the England-Nepal match at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai also saw around 18,000 fans in attendance. An Afghanistan-UAE match saw around 8,000 fans stream in at Delhi.
The shift has not been accidental. The most obvious difference between formats lies in duration. T20 matches demand only a few hours, and triple-headers throughout the group stage, which initially seemed excessive when schedules were announced, compress the experience into manageable windows, allowing flexibility that 50-over cricket rarely offers. As England-based fan Erika Morris observed, “The schedule of three back-to-back games means momentum during the day builds, and people can watch matches across nearly all time zones.” The tournament becomes less of an appointment and more of an open invitation.
The comparison with the 2024 T20 World Cup, held across the West Indies and the United States, also adds context. That edition featured 20 teams as well, but low-scoring surfaces, stop-start momentum, and unfriendly broadcast time zones for Asian audiences made continuous engagement difficult. Travelling to the Caribbean is also considerably more complex for many supporters compared to India. Here, familiarity, connectivity, and scale combine to produce an environment that translates into attendance.
How travelling fans have enjoyed the T20 World Cup
Kevin Adams, an England fan who travels extensively for cricket, explained how India naturally fitted into his winter plans. “I travel every winter to wherever England play. This winter, I have done all five Ashes Tests in Australia, three ODIs in Colombo, three T20s in Kandy.
“In terms of what made me decide to come, the main point of my trip was to follow England in the Ashes. I'm a regular visitor to Sri Lanka, so I decided to stop off for the white-ball series on the way home, so to speak. All through my planning, I had one eye on the T20 World Cup and was delighted that England were drawn to play four group games in India, as I love going to India, especially the food, and the dates worked perfectly for me.”
If travelling fans have brought the world to the World Cup, Associate teams have brought the joy. Nepal pushing England close at the Wankhede Stadium created one of the tournament’s earliest talking points, driven as much by the sea of Nepal jerseys as by the cricket itself. Neeraj, who travelled from Kathmandu, described the experience in emotional terms.
“It was always like some sort of dream for us to see Nepal in a World Cup, that too in India. Travelling from Nepal to Mumbai to watch Nepal play at the iconic venue like Wankhede was a dream come true. To be honest, even though we lost, it didn’t feel that heartbreaking because we were playing a World Cup match. Seeing Nepal’s flag in the stands, the whole stadium filled with Nepal jerseys, and hearing the crowd sing the national anthem, every moment was worth it. The match experience in Wankhede was unforgettable for me personally. It was bigger than the result. Everything absolutely lived up to the hype.”
Close contests, along with the choice to play on well-balanced wickets, have further added to the intrigue in this World Cup. The USA pushed both Pakistan and India, Italy challenged England, Zimbabwe produced twin upsets, and the double Super Over between Afghanistan and South Africa became instant tournament folklore. Even when matches were not particularly close, they offered exposure to unfamiliar teams and players, which carried its own appeal.
Affordable pricing helps bring the tournament alive
For long-time spectator Vipul Yadav, who has attended multiple ICC events in India since 2011, this edition has felt distinctly international. “I’ve seen every ICC event here, but what’s unique this time is that, as a spectator, you genuinely feel it is a global game. Even when you go to watch hockey in Odisha, you see Dutch, German or English fans, but that wasn’t the case in cricket in India unless it was a Test featuring Australia or England. Barring the 2011 final, I haven’t really seen global fans here before. But this time, it’s been different. For the England-Nepal match, the turnout was around 18,000, and nearly 12,000 were Nepal fans, a literal takeover of Mumbai. I genuinely saw how passionate those fans were.”
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Another heartwarming moment from the tournament has been the presence of the Castle Corner, a passionate group of fans supporting the Zimbabwe team. As Sikandar Raza’s team confirmed their place in the Super Eights, the group huddled together below the team balcony, singing songs along with the players, in celebration and unity.
Vipul also pointed to the factor of ticket pricing in bringing in fans. “In 2016, a decade ago, a North Stand ticket at Wankhede was ₹3,500, and that’s why there were half-empty stadiums, because people would watch only one match. Now, tickets were ₹300 for Associate teams, so people can go to more games. Barring the VIP and hospitality stands, almost all tickets that went on sale were sold out.”
The contrast with 2023 is stark. Neutral fixtures in Bengaluru - which is not hosting any matches this year - were priced around ₹6,500, while premium seats for India versus the Netherlands crossed ₹14,000. In Delhi, the England-Afghanistan match cost ₹1,500, the same amount as an India match at the same venue this time. “The general feeling in 2023 was that you are watching more cricket in one ticket, so the prices also reflected that.”
Venue selection has also mattered. Matches in India have been allocated to cities with deep cricketing cultures such as Mumbai, Chennai, Kolkata, and Delhi, alongside Ahmedabad. In 2023, cities like Lucknow and Pune, which struggle to fill the stands even during an IPL game, were prominent venues. The location of the stadiums - away from the city centre - also meant they struggled for attendance during the 2023 ODI World Cup. This was also a major factor the 2025 Women's ODI World Cup did not gain adequate traction, with matches limited to smaller cities. The final was initially slated to be held in the new Mullanpur stadium, before it was shifted to Navi Mumbai. In contrast, prioritising traditional cricket centres has produced stronger engagement this time.
PK Soni from the Delhi cricket association confirmed that teams themselves preferred playing in major centres. Vipul also adds that the scheduling has been on point in the World Cup. “The marquee South Africa-New Zealand got a Saturday night slot in Ahmedabad, where cricket doesn’t have that rich a history. Associate teams have played in Mumbai, Chennai or Kolkata, where fans are always more passionate, and they have mostly played in the morning. These venues will always have crowds, so it worked.”
India has always been described as cricket-obsessed, yet recent years have also carried narratives around toxic fan culture and administrative controversies linked to the BCCI. This tournament has offered a quieter counterpoint. Crowds have come for teams beyond India, for stories beyond superstardom, and for cricket beyond outcome. The World Cup, finally, feels like it belongs to the world again.
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