After more than a century, Cricket will return in Olympics; a six-team T20 competition mooted to globalise cricket

With T20 cricket being one of the choices, the Los Angeles Olympics might see the return of cricket to the Olympic Games. After a 128-year hiatus, the International Cricket Council has proposed the move to “globalise” cricket. Men’s and women’s teams are both expected to compete in a six-team event.

According to the Telegraph, along with the 28 sports in the initial sports programme for Los Angeles 2028, cricket is one of nine other sports that have been shortlisted for inclusion. A final decision will be made in September of the following year, and the ICC will stop at nothing to reinstate cricket at the biggest sporting event.

In an effort to limit the number of athletes competing, the ICC has suggested a six-team event with squads of 14 per team. According to the research, it would be more economical to schedule the men’s and women’s competitions one after the other. The top two in each group might advance to the semifinals in a format with two groups. The bronze medal could be decided by a third-place playoff.

England has said they favour Olympic inclusion even though the Olympics take place during the English summer (the LA Games are set for July 14–30). Due to the men’s and women’s events likely lasting a week each, the interruption to the English domestic summer would be limited.

England would participate as a Great Britain team, which means that players from Scotland, like Mark Watt, and conceivably even Northern Ireland cricketers, might be added to the England team. Cricket Scotland, Cricket Ireland, the England & Wales Cricket Board, and other organisations have all stated their support for an Olympic bid.

Instead of underage teams or a version of the format used in football at the Olympics, the teams would be genuinely full-strength national representative teams, with three overage players per team allowed.

The top six positions in the men’s rankings are presently held by Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, England, Pakistan, South Africa, and India. In the women’s rankings, Australia, England, New Zealand, India, South Africa, and the West Indies take up the top six positions.

India is ranked well in both sets of T20 rankings, which increases the likelihood that they will earn a spot in both competitions. Due to the Olympics’ waning appeal in South Asia and the fact that adding sports to the LA 28 schedule depends heavily on their worldwide appeal, this is thought to be crucial for cricket’s prospects of being added.

The Caribbean islands would compete as distinct countries rather than as the West Indies. West Indies obtained one spot at the Commonwealth Games through the qualification process.

Then, a competition amongst the countries was held to choose the representative, which Barbados won. The similar system may be utilised for the Olympic Games if West Indies occupied one of the top six positions in the rankings, however such specifics are still to be worked out.

The Olympics have always insisted that competitions feature the best athletes in each discipline participating in a format that is acknowledged around the world. In actuality, this has meant that T20 is the only format that gives cricket a genuine possibility of being included in the Olympics, even if others have suggested T10, the Hundred, or even six-a-side.

However, there are still a lot of barriers standing in the way of cricket in Los Angeles. Only two new sports will be allowed at the games, according to Los Angeles. Additionally, if the modern pentathlon and boxing attract more athletes, the number of additional sports may be reduced to one or even none.

All nine candidate sports have been meeting with the local organising committee. At the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham this year, a group witnessed the women’s cricket competition. Many cricket fans hoped that cricket’s appearance at the Commonwealth Games, which it did for the second time ever and for the first time since 1998, would serve as a sign of the sport’s suitability for multi-sport events and help it make a comeback to the Olympic Games.

Exclusive: Six-team T20 competitions could bring cricket back to the Olympics at the Commonwealth Games.

The Commonwealth Games in Birmingham featured cricket for the first time since 1998. Getty Images/Alex Davidson

The following Men’s T20 World Cup already has the United States as a co-host. The ICC anticipates that the occasion will spur the development of the sport in the USA.

Three locations in Los Angeles have been suggested as potential venues for cricket matches during the 2028 Olympic Games, including the Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum, home of the Major League Baseball Oakland Athletics.

In 2016, rugby sevens returned to the Games. The funding is available to sports federations if their sport is a part of the Games, regardless of whether the federation in question qualifies for the event. It is currently estimated that it receives at least £25 million through national Olympic committees per four-year cycle worldwide. In reality, emerging nations—who would be extremely unlikely to qualify for the Games—are the nations most likely to gain from Olympic inclusion.

Cricket’s inclusion in those Games is reportedly supported by the Brisbane organising committee, which has already been selected to host the 2032 Olympic Games.

Only the 1900 Paris Olympics featured cricket, and that year a Great Britain team made up of members of the Devon & Somerset Wanderers Cricket Club won the gold medal game against a French team made up of members of the French Athletic Club Union. Since then, Great Britain has held the title of defending Olympic cricket champions.

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