CRICKET will feature as one of five new sports at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles after being approved on Monday in a vote of the International Olympic Committee’s session.
The IOC’s executive board last week accepted a proposal by LA organisers for cricket’s Twenty20 format, together with baseball/softball, flag football, squash and lacrosse, to be included.
But the final choice still had to be voted on Monday at the IOC session in Mumbai, one of the global centres for cricket, as India hosts the men’s 50-over Cricket World Cup.
Only two delegates at the session voted against the new sports.
Organisers have proposed a six-team event, in both men’s and women’s Twenty20 cricket, the shortest form of the game.
Cricket last featured at the 1900 Paris Olympics, when a team from Britain beat a side representing France.
Adding cricket to the Olympic programme is an obvious move, financially speaking.
It would tap into the lucrative South Asian market, attracting fans in countries such as India and Pakistan.
The Indian Premier League, featuring cricket’s global stars, has helped India become the unquestioned economic driving force of the sport, thanks to legions of fans and lucrative broadcasting deals in a nation where the game is almost a religion.
Mumbai is also home to the Mumbai Indians — an IPL team owned by India IOC board member Nita Ambani.
India won both men’s and women’s cricket gold medals at the recent multi-sport Asian Games in China.
Meanwhile, Major League Cricket, a professional Twenty20 League, launched in the United States in July, with the US a co-host of next year’s men’s T20 World Cup together with territories in the West Indies.
“It’s a win-win situation,” International Cricket Council chairman Greg Barclay told reporters in Mumbai, of cricket’s inclusion in the LA 2028 programme.
“We’ve got a global sport, what I think is the fastest-growing global sport, but getting onto the biggest sporting stage in the world, the Olympics, is a massive shot in the arm for the game,” the New Zealander added.
Former India captain Mithali Raj, an all-time great in women’s cricket, said: “Players will get the chance to compete for an Olympic gold medal and be part of the games which will be so special.
“It’s also a chance for more fans around the world to enjoy our fantastic sport.”