Cricket to make a grand return at the Olympics? ICC confirms its interests

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has officially confirmed that they are interested to bid for the inclusion of cricket as a discipline for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

Cricket last appeared in the global sporting event in 1900, at the second-ever Olympic Games in Paris. It was just a one-off feature of the ‘Gentleman’s Game,’ Great Britain and France won the Gold and Silver medals respectively. The participation was limited to only two teams who claimed the medals, but now things have changed. Cricket has evolved into a global sport, with 13 full members and 94 associate member nations. 

“Thirty-million cricket fans live in the USA, making LA 2028 the ideal Games for cricket to make its return to Olympic competition. Cricket, till now, has made just one appearance in the Olympics, way back in 1900 in Paris when only two teams competed at the event – Great Britain and hosts France – meaning the sport's inclusion in 2028 would mark the end of a 128-year absence,” the International Cricket Council said in a statement.

The ICC Chairman, Greg Barclay, congratulated the International Olympics Committee for the successful conduct of Tokyo 2020 in these challenging times.

“Firstly on behalf of everyone at the ICC, I would like to congratulate the IOC, Tokyo 2020, and the people of Japan for staging such an incredible Games in such difficult circumstances. It truly was fantastic to watch and captured the imagination of the world and we would love for cricket to be a part of future Games,” Greg Barclay said.

Cricket as a sport has the distinction of having a billion fans. Many of them are from the Indo-Pacific region. This could be a watershed moment for its inclusion in the Olympic Games. 

“Our sport is united behind this bid, and we see the Olympics as a part of cricket’s long-term future. We have more than a billion fans globally and almost 90 per cent of them want to see cricket at the Olympics. Clearly, cricket has a strong and passionate fanbase, particularly in South Asia where 92% of our fans come from whilst there are also 30 million cricket fans in the USA. The opportunity for those fans to see their heroes competing for an Olympic medal is tantalising,” Barclay added.

The return of cricket at the Summer Olympics in LA 2028 would undoubtedly be a spectacle to witness.

"We believe cricket would be a great addition to the Olympic Games, but we know it won’t be easy to secure our inclusion as there are so many other great sports out there wanting to do the same. But we feel now is the time to put our best foot forward and show what a great partnership cricket and the Olympics are,” ICC Chairman concluded.

Before, LA 2028 - Cricket is all set to be featured in the Commonwealth Games. Women’s T20 cricket will mark the sport’s grand return in Birmingham 2022.

[ICC media release input]