Cricket will be one of five new sports at the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, following approval by the International Olympic Committee’s session on Monday.
The IOC’s executive board last week approved a proposal by LA organizers to include cricket’s Twenty20 style, as well as baseball/softball, flag football, squash, and lacrosse.
However, the final decision must be voted on Monday at the IOC session in Mumbai, one of the world’s cricket capitals, as India hosts the men’s 50-over Cricket World Cup.
Only two delegates at the session voted against the new sports.
The organizers have proposed a six-team event in both men’s and women’s Twenty20 cricket, the game’s shortest format.
Cricket was last played in the Paris Olympics in 1900, when a British team defeated a French squad.
Adding cricket to the Olympic program is a logical financial decision.
It would enter the wealthy South Asian market, luring followers in India and Pakistan.
The Indian Premier League, which features worldwide cricket players, has helped India become the sport’s undisputed economic driving force, thanks to legions of fans and rich media deals in a country where the game is nearly a religion.
Mumbai is also the home of the Mumbai Indians, an Indian Premier League team owned by India IOC board member Nita Ambani.
At the recent multi-sport Asian Games in China, India won gold medals in both men’s and women’s cricket.
Meanwhile, Major League Cricket, a professional Twenty20 League, began operations in the United States in July, with the United States serving as a co-host of next year’s men’s T20 World Cup alongside territories in the West Indies.
“It’s a win-win situation,” International Cricket Council head Greg Barclay said of cricket’s inclusion in the LA 2028 program to reporters in Mumbai.
“We’ve got a global sport, what I think is the fastest-growing global sport, but getting onto the biggest sporting stage in the world, the Olympics, is a massive shot in the arm for the game,” the New Zealander added.
Former India captain Mithali Raj, an all-time great in women’s cricket, said: “Players will get the chance to compete for an Olympic gold medal and be part of the games which will be so special.
“It’s also a chance for more fans around the world to enjoy our fantastic sport.”
‘2.5 billion rabid fans’
Los Angeles 2028 chairman Casey Wasserman explained the campaign for cricket’s inclusion, saying, “We think the opportunity to bring a sport that has 2.5 billion rabid fans to what we think is the greatest sport city in the world, it’s a really powerful combination.”
The secretary of India’s Board of Control for Cricket, Jay Shah, praised “a momentous occasion” that “aligns” with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s announcement on Saturday that India would bid to host the 2036 Olympics.
“Moreover, we anticipate that this decision will yield significant financial dividends and have a profound positive impact on our sport’s eco-system,” Shah said, with the decision to include cricket at LA 2028 estimated to increase the value of India’s broadcasting rights for the IOC by over $100 million.
But IOC president Thomas Bach, speaking after Monday’s IOC session, said any financial boost would be a “consequence”.
“The first argument and the most important argument is we have seen the growing international importance of cricket and the Olympic Games want to incorporate the most popular sports worldwide,” said Bach.
“This sport (cricket) also has a growing importance in the United States.”
Among the newly included US sports is flag football — a limited-contact form of American football.
Monday’s vote also saw the racquet sport of squash finally make it onto an Olympic programme after several failed attempts.
However, there was no room for the dance sport of breaking, which is expected to withdraw from the program after making its Olympic debut in Paris next year, while boxing is now “on hold” for LA 2028 due to a dispute between the IOC and the sport’s governing body over governance issues.
In order to keep costs under control, the IOC set a maximum of 10,500 athletes every Games.
However, with the inclusion of five new sports to the LA schedule, four of which are team events, that figure is expected to be topped by the 2028 Games.
The IOC stated that it would now endeavor to ensure that the final athlete quotas for LA 2028 “remain reasonable.”