Cricket’s more than 100-year absence from the Olympic Games may soon come to an end after the executive board of the International Olympic Committee authorized its inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Following the second day of the executive board meeting on Friday in Mumbai, IOC President Thomas Bach announced that the IOC had accepted the LA organizing committee’s proposal to add Twenty20 cricket to the list of five new sports, along with baseball/softball, flag football (a non-contact version of American football), squash, and lacrosse. However, the IOC will vote on the final selection of the sports for the 2028 schedule on Monday in Mumbai, one of the cricketing capitals of the world, when India hosts the men’s 50-over Cricket World Cup.
“For the IOC, it is a great opportunity to engage with new athlete and fan communities,” Bach stated.
“We see the growing popularity of T20 cricket, and we look forward to welcoming the world’s best players to the US in 2028,” he stated.
Men’s and women’s T20 cricket tournaments featuring six teams have been suggested by the Los Angeles Chiefs, with the United States slated to field teams as the host nation.
But until and unless cricket receives formal ratification on Monday, no definite decision will be made regarding the number of teams or how they are qualified.
The last time cricket was a part of an Olympic event was in 1900 in Paris, where a British team defeated a French side.
With the support of the Olympic movement, the sport has been making progress towards a comeback at the Games for more than a decade.
Financially speaking, bringing cricket to the Olympic program is a no-brainer.
It will draw admirers from nations like Pakistan and India by tapping into the affluent South Asian market.
The shortest international format in cricket is T20.
Thanks to throngs of fans and huge media deals in a country where the sport is practically a religion, India has become the undisputed economic powerhouse of cricket thanks to the Indian Premier League, which features the game’s international giants.
Also read: Reviewing all seven of the previous India vs Pakistan World Cup matchups before Saturday’s match
Boxing’s inclusion in the 2028 Olympics is currently in doubt because the IOC denied the International Boxing Association recognition as a result of a disagreement over the sport’s organizational structure.
