ICC ANNOUNCE PLANS TO BRING BACK CRICKET TO THE OLYMPICS

The International Cricket Council announced on Tuesday that it would be going ahead with the plan to include cricket in the Olympic Games from the 2028 edition onwards. 

If the plan goes ahead, the Los Angeles Games in 2028 could be host to the game’s return for the first time since the 1900 Paris Games. With the game slowly growing in the United States, it would be the perfect launch pad to bring back the sport and develop and grow the game in new territories.

In a statement realized by the ICC, chairman Greg Barclay said, ‘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 percent of them want to see cricket at the Olympics. Clearly cricket has a strong and passionate fan base, 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. 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 could be.” 

The ICC will hope that next year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham will be a proper dress rehearsal for the Olympics’ inclusion and the perfect platform to showcase what the sport can bring to the Olympics. 

The ball has already been set rolling with the ICC Olympic Working Group being set up. The Working Group will comprise of ECB’s Ian Watmore, ICC’s Independent Director Indra Nooyi, Zimbabwe Cricket Board’s Tavengwa Mukuhlani, ICC’s Associate Member Director Mahinda Vallipuram, and USA Cricket’s Chair Parag Marathe. 

Speaking about the plans, Marathe said, “USA Cricket is thrilled to be able to support cricket’s bid for inclusion in the Olympics, the timing of which aligns perfectly with our continuing plans to develop the sport in the USA. With so many passionate cricket fans and players already in the USA, and a huge global audience and following for the sport around the world, we believe that cricket’s inclusion will add great value to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and help us to achieve our own vision for establishing cricket as a mainstream sport in this country.” 

Although the plans are set to bring back cricket to the Olympics after a 128-year gap, the ICC has not clarified which format they would include for the Games. Although T20 seemed like the most likely option, with the rise of The Hundred, it will be interesting to see which format cricket returns with to sports’ greatest stage.