After returning to the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games recently, T20 cricket will feature at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics too. Recommended by the LA Local Organising Committee (LALOG), the proposal to include cricket at the LA28 Games was rubber stamped by the International Olympic Committee's members, who voted on Monday in Mumbai.
Five new sports - cricket (men's and women's T20s), baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse and squash - were recommended as a package by LA LOCOG, which was approved over the weekend by the IOC's executive board. On Monday, the IOC voted unanimously in favour of including all the five sports, with just two members voting against. "The proposal is approved," IOC president Thomas Bach announced at the session in Mumbai.
Speaking ahead of the IOC vote, Niccolo Campriani, director of LA LOCOG, had said cricket was "easy" to pitch to IOC as one of the five new sports to be added to LA28. Campriani had said that the T20 format, which the ICC proposed as the format to LA28, "is making the game fast, full of action and appealing to the younger crowd".
Olympics, as a brand, is universally known and is vastly popular. But like all sporting organisations, the IOC, too, has been looking at attracting both new audiences and financial capital. To that end, Campriani, who won three Olympic gold medals in shooting for Italy, noted cricket's global reach and its popular players like India batter Virat Kohli, who is an idol for the youth both in India and countries where the game is played.
Campriani also said that with the men's T20 World Cup to be co-hosted by the West Indies and the USA next year, along with the successful launch of Major League Cricket in the USA earlier this year, cricket would not anymore be a niche sport, even in Los Angeles.
"We are thrilled to welcome the world's second-most popular sport with an estimated 2.5 billion fans worldwide," Campriani said. "Some of you might be wondering why in LA? Well, the commitment to grow cricket in the US is real, and it's already happening with the launch of the very first Major League Cricket season earlier this year, which exceeded all expectations. And the [men's] T20 World Cup in 2024 coming to US and West Indies."
"Think [about] my friend here Virat [Kohli]. He's the third-most followed athlete in the world on social media with 314 million followers. That's more than LeBron James, Tom Brady and Tiger Woods combined. This is the ultimate win-win for LA 28" Niccolo Campriani, director of LA Local Organising Committee
Campriani echoed the IOC president Thomas Bach's comment that inclusion of cricket was a "win-win" for both the sport, and the Olympics programme.
"We all recognise the critical importance of a strong digital presence in order to keep the games relevant for the youth. And cricket is offering a unique platform to do so," Campriani said. "Think [about] my friend here Virat. He's the third-most followed athlete in the world on social media with 314 million followers. That's more than LeBron James, Tom Brady and Tiger Woods combined. This is the ultimate win-win for LA 28.
"The IOC and the cricket community as cricket will be showcased on a global stage to grow beyond the traditional cricket countries, while the Olympic movement gains access to previously untapped communities of athletes and fans. It's a great example of how one can reach the other."
All team sports at LA28 will be six-team events in both men and women's categories. In its proposal to LA28, the ICC had suggested the six teams would be shortlisted based on the T20I rankings at a cut-off date. Last Friday, Kit McConnell, the IOC's sports director, said a final call on the qualification system would be taken by 2025.
"Normally, the host country is one of the teams in the team sports, and then we look at a balance of global strength and regional representation, and try and find that balance within the available quota as well," McConnell had said.
More than its Full-Member countries, cricket's inclusion at the Olympics is more significant for the ICC's Associates. Primarily, they will receive more funding from their national Olympic bodies, and potentially infrastructure resources, too.
The final stamp of approval means cricket will return to the Olympics 128 years after it featured for the only time in the 1900 Paris Games. Restricted to just one match with only two participating countries, the gold medal was won by Great Britain, comprising the Devon and Somerset Wanderers Club, who beat hosts France, consisting of staffers from the British embassy in Paris.
Casey Wasserman, the LA28 chairperson, who, Bach had said last week was convinced that cricket would be a catalyst for the Olympics programme, said LA 28 was on its way to being the "most compelling" Olympics. "We are excited to embark on game-changing collaborations with major professional leagues that will unlock massive opportunities to amplify the Olympic and Paralympic story, and captivate new audiences," Wasserman said in a media release.
ICC chairman Greg Barclay said including cricket at Olympics was a "priority" for the game's governing body. "Cricket's inclusion in the Olympic Games has been a priority for our organization, and we're thrilled to have the opportunity to showcase our great sport and athletes at the LA28 Games, and hopefully many Olympic Games to come," he said.
"I'd like to thank LA28 and the International Olympic Committee for their support, and for their trust in our organisation's ability to deliver a world-class event and countless new Olympic fans from all over the world. The fact that the IOC confirmation of our selection occurred here in Mumbai, during the ICC Men's Cricket World Cup, is truly icing on the cake. The innings has just begun, and we can't wait to see where this incredible journey leads."
The IOC's Mumbai session was only the second time the global body was hosting its meetings in India, with the first instance having come back in 1984 in Delhi. The Mumbai session was pivotal for India because the country wants to host the 2036 Olympics. That pitch was formally made on October 14 by India's prime minister Narendra Modi, who also said India would look to host the Youth Olympics in 2030.
IOC member Nita Ambani, who owns the Mumbai Indians franchise across T20 leagues globally, said cricket's inclusion in the Olympics was a "landmark" moment. "The inclusion of cricket in the Olympics will create deeper engagement for the Olympic Movement in newer geographies. And at the same time, provides a boost to cricket's growing international popularity.."