Cricket Set To Return At 2028 Los Angeles Olympics As The Sport Continues American Push

After 128 years, following a long-winded push and overcoming resistance from its most powerful countries, cricket is all but confirmed to make its Olympic return at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.

As I’ve reported throughout the year, confidence has been high from those close to cricket’s Olympic bid. That optimism was justified when the Los Angeles organizing committee proposed cricket to be included along with baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse and squash.

“LA28’s proposed sports ignite the imagination on the field of play and drive culture off it. They’re relevant, innovative and community-based, played in backyards, schoolyards, community centers, stadiums and parks across the U.S. and the globe,” LA28 chair Casey Wasserman said.

Cricket has only featured in the Olympics once before – at the 1900 Paris Games where a two-day match was played between Britain and France.

“We are delighted that LA28 have recommended cricket for inclusion in the Olympics,” International Cricket Council chair Greg Barclay said. “Whilst this is not the final decision, it is a very significant landmark towards seeing cricket at the Olympics for the first time in more than a century.”

Cricket, both men’s and women’s, has been earmarked to be played under the three-hour T20 format and it is expected that there will be six or eight teams per gender.

The Olympic proposal is expected to be approved by the International Olympic Committee this week in the Indian city of Mumbai – coincidentally amid the ongoing cricket World Cup.

After much politicking over the years, cricket’s powerbrokers were finally on the same page to get the popular British Commonwealth bat and ball sport into the Olympics.

All-powerful India had been reluctant previously fearing losing its autonomy to the country’s Olympic committee, while also potentially posing clashes with lucrative bilateral series.

England too had been reticent with the summer Olympics clashing with its home season.

As I’ve reported previously, there had been discussions between senior ICC and IOC officials as far back as at the Beijing Olympics. It was believed that cricket could have been included at the Tokyo Games, but the sport had not yet united on an Olympic front.

As I first reported in December 2020, an ICC working group was formed by then acting chair Imran Khwaja but has been tweaked numerously in the years since. The ICC was formerly announced during the Tokyo Olympics and the sport’s heft in South Asia has seemingly proven irresistible.

According to The Times, the value of the IOC’s TV rights in India would increase from $20 million to $200 million if cricket was part of the L.A. Olympics.

Even though only the established nations will be part of the 2028 Games, given the limited number of teams, Olympic inclusion provides invaluable status and potentially unlocks government funding for the sport in countries beyond traditional borders.

“You’re not taken seriously in Japan unless you’re an Olympic sport. For non-playing countries, cricket is seen as a minor sport,” Japan Cricket Association head of operations Alan Curr told me.

Olympic inclusion at the Los Angeles Games was targeted by cricket chiefs with the sport continuing its push into the world’s biggest sports market.

Major League Cricket, America’s new pro league, made a revenue of $8 million in its debut season while next year’s T20 World Cup will feature matches in New York, Dallas and Florida.

Olympic inclusion in Los Angeles all but guarantees that cricket will be part of the 2032 Brisbane Games in the sport’s heartland.