IOC Confirms T20 Cricket for LA 2028 Olympics
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has officially confirmed that T20-format cricket will be included in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. The IOC Executive Board approved the event program and athlete quotas for the 2028 Olympics on Wednesday, which includes the addition of cricket in the T20 format.
As per the approval, both men’s and women’s T20 tournaments will be conducted, with six teams participating in each category. Each team will comprise 15 players, allowing a total of 90 cricketers to compete in the Olympic Games.
While the decision to include cricket has been finalized, the specific venues and schedule for the matches are yet to be determined.
Cricket is one of five new sports that have been approved for inclusion in the 2028 Olympics. The other four sports are baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes format), and squash. The IOC had given preliminary approval for the inclusion of these sports two years ago.
This marks a significant return for cricket to the Olympic stage, as the sport has not been featured for more than a century. The last and only Olympic cricket match was held during the 1900 Paris Games, where Great Britain and France played a two-day match.
The inclusion of cricket in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics is expected to enhance the sport’s visibility on the global stage and potentially lead to its presence in other major international events. Notably, men’s cricket featured in the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Kuala Lumpur, while women’s cricket made its debut in the 2022 Commonwealth Games held in Birmingham.