India and Pakistan will meet at the Wanderers in Johannesburg on 10 October 2027, and 8,397,294 ticket applications have already been made for that one match. The ground holds about 34,000 people, so there are roughly 247 requests for every seat.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) released the figures on Monday. They also show that total requests for the 2027 Men’s Cricket World Cup passed 120 million: 120,809,467 applications had been made by 1 November. South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia are co-hosting the tournament. The ballot stays open until 23:59 Central Africa Time (CAT) on 21 November 2026.
Demand outstrips even the final
The group match between the two rivals has drawn more requests than the final. The final is also at the Wanderers, on 21 November 2027, and has received 7,900,944 applications. That is nearly half a million fewer than India v Pakistan, even though nobody yet knows which two teams will play in it.
Other figures from the ICC release:
- 2.8 million unique fans from 193 countries have registered, making more than 32 million match registrations
- South Africa’s 41 fixtures across eight venues have drawn more than 105 million applications
- Matches involving the South Africa team have nearly 26 million requests
- Zimbabwe v India at the new Mosi-oa-Tunya International Cricket Stadium in Victoria Falls on 24 October has just over 3.3 million requests
- England v Bangladesh in Windhoek on 8 October has nearly 900,000 requests. It is one of six matches in Namibia, which is hosting men’s World Cup games for the first time
“The response to the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 has been outstanding,” said Gaurav Saxena, the ICC’s general manager of events and cricket operations. Saxena urged fans who have not registered to do so before the ballot closes.
Qondisa Ngwenya, chief executive of the local organising committee, said: “The extraordinary demand for tickets is a powerful indication of the excitement surrounding the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup 2027 and the opportunity it presents for South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.”
Why India v Pakistan sells like no other fixture
The two countries have not played a bilateral series since 2012-13 because of political tensions. They now meet only at ICC and Asian Cricket Council events, usually at neutral venues. With so few meetings, each one draws huge demand.
Recent matches have followed the same pattern. When Pakistan hosted the 2025 Champions Trophy, India played all their games in Dubai, where they beat Pakistan by six wickets. Later that year, the Asia Cup in the UAE was overshadowed by the handshake row and the dispute over presenting the trophy, after India beat Pakistan three times, including in the final. Off the field, the relationship is as tense as it has ever been.
Johannesburg has hosted the rivalry before. In the 2007 World Twenty20 final at the Wanderers, India beat Pakistan by five runs, a win that started the Indian Premier League era. Four years earlier, at the 2003 World Cup in South Africa, Sachin Tendulkar scored 98 against Pakistan at Centurion. That is still one of the best-remembered innings in World Cup history.
The 2027 tournament is the first men’s World Cup in Africa since 2003. India’s record against Pakistan in 50-over World Cups adds to the interest: Pakistan have never beaten them in eight attempts. The most recent of those games was India’s seven-wicket win in Ahmedabad in 2023.
What happens next
Tickets are not sold first come, first served. Registration is free and fans can enter one application per match. If a match has more applicants than tickets, a random ballot decides who gets one. Successful applicants will be emailed instructions on how to buy. No money changes hands during the ballot, and fans who do not register before it closes will not be able to buy tickets later.
With 247 requests per seat for India v Pakistan, more than 99% of applicants will miss out. The figures also show where the tournament’s revenue will come from. The South Asian diaspora in South Africa, the UK and the USA is large, and fans from those countries, together with India and Australia, lead the ballot registrations.
For the organisers, the challenge now is to make sure demand is not limited to the marquee games. The 2027 edition has 14 teams, 57 matches and 12 venues. Organisers hope the interest in India v Pakistan, the final and the hosts’ own matches will spread to the rest of the schedule, including smaller grounds in Zimbabwe and Namibia.
The answer will come after the ballot closes on 21 November. For now, the figures show that India v Pakistan is still the most sought-after ticket in cricket, eleven months before the first ball.
Sports journalist and editor at SportsPortal.net. Covers cricket, football, Formula 1, tennis, and basketball with a focus on how global sports connect with Pakistani audiences. Follows the PSL, Pakistan national cricket team, Premier League, and major international tournaments. Has reported on sports for digital audiences since 2021.
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