ICC To Push For Cricket Inclusion In 2028 Olympics

After a wait of more than a century, the ICC has finally confirmed its intention to include cricket in the 2028 Olympics and have set up a working group to bid for cricket’s inclusion in the games to be held in Los Angeles.

It was in 1900 when cricket was last played in the Olympics. The match was held between Great Britain and France. But it could become a permanent fixture in the games with the ICC hoping to see it included in Brisbane 2032 as well and beyond.

“Our sport is united behind this bid,” ICC chair Greg Barkley said in a press release on Tuesday. “And we see the Olympics as a part of cricket’s long-term future,” he added.

All these years, the non-inclusion of cricket in the Olympics has been attributed to two major reasons. Firstly, time is taken for the completion of a game and secondly, cricket is not a very popular sport in all parts of the World. It is popular only in a few countries but has the potential to make it to the Olympics.

ECB board chair Ian Watmore will lead the ICC Olympic Working Group and he will be joined by the ICC independent director Indra Nooyi, chair of Zimbabwe Cricket Tavengwa Mukuhlani, ICC Associate member director and vice-president of the Asian Cricket Council Mahinda Vallipuram and chair of USA Cricket Paraag Marathe, who believes the time is ripe for an Olympic bid.

Now that the ICC has confirmed its intention to push for cricket’s inclusion in the Olympic Games, it will soon start its preparations for a bid on behalf of the sport with the primary target being its addition to the Los Angeles 2028 itinerary.

The world is a very different place now from what it was in 1900, and cricket itself has changed dramatically. The news made some argue that modern cricket would benefit from restoration to the Olympic ranks, but that remains unlikely under the prevailing viewpoint in England, in India, and at the International Cricket Council.

Earlier, ICC and BCCI didn’t want to include cricket in the Olympics as it would decrease the ICC World Cup’s value and have associated monetary losses. One of the wealthiest cricket boards in the world, BCCI also believed the same.