ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Cheer: Gig workers turn MVP off the field

New Delhi: Host cities have seen a surge in gig and temporary hiring in the run-up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup across sectors such as hospitality, food and beverage (F&B) and event services, according to staffing firms and job platforms.

“This year, we are seeing demand reach a new scale,” said Yeshab Giri, chief commercial officer, operational talent solutions, Randstad India. Hiring has increased sharply for stadium operations, F&B services, housekeeping, delivery and event logistics, he said, with the highest demand for roles such as gate ushers, crowd stewards, F&B kiosk staff, premium hospitality servers and logistics runners.

Randstad estimates that the biennale cricket tournament could create “close to 1.2–1.5 lakh temporary roles nationally”, with “each match day requiring between 1,500 and 2,500 gig workers”. The tournament, which is being co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka this year from February 7-March 8, will feature matches across five Indian cities—Delhi, Ahmedabad, Kolkata, Mumbai and Chennai—and three Sri Lankan grounds.
While both gig workers and temporary workers are short-term hires, gig workers are usually independent contractors, whereas temporary workers are often employed through agencies. Delhi and Mumbai are driving demand for corporate hospitality and VIP servicing during T20 World Cup matches.

Uptick in hiring since November

Ahmedabad, Kolkata and Chennai are seeing a spurt in hiring for crowd management and accommodation support, according to people in the know.

Hiring momentum has also been evident on job platforms. “Hiring activity has picked up since November/December (last year),” said Kartik Narayan, CEO–jobs marketplace at Apna.co, adding that entry-level workers in “restaurant, hospitality, tourism and delivery logistics are hard to scale up given the migratory nature of our workforce”. According to Apna data, wage increases are most pronounced in Chennai, Kolkata, Mumbai and Delhi, among the cities which are hosting T20 World Cup matches. Narayan said that both minimum and entry-level wages, as well as maximum wages, have risen across hospitality-linked categories, even as delivery and logistics wages softened after last year’s festive-season hiring.
He also flagged persistent churn, citing “attrition in the delivery, logistics space of as much as 40% per month”, which continues to strain supply.Staffing firm ManpowerGroup estimates that in the cities hosting T20 World Cup matches, “the total demand will be in excess of 15,000 to 18,000 gig workers”, with stadium operations and F&B accounting for the bulk of hiring, according to Sandeep Gulati, managing director–India and Middle East. These are largely “middle-income gig roles”, with monthly pay ranging between ₹50,000 and ₹75,000 for the duration of the tournament.

CIEL HR Services sees a similar pattern. “Entry-level and frontline manpower requirements are up by 10–20% during this window,” said its chief executive Aditya Mishra, adding that demand is sharply concentrated around match days.

Even as the World Cup creates “time-bound spikes”, increasing frequency of large events is pushing employers to build “repeatable gig workforce models with pre-vetted talent pools, faster onboarding, dynamic pay and surge-based deployment”, said Mishra.

The hiring surge is also reflected in job portal data. According to Naukri, in hospitality and F&B, the highest volume of open roles linked to event-led demand includes housekeeping and laundry, kitchen and F&B production, front office and guest services, and food and beverage services.