Cricket fails to be part of 2028 Los Angeles Olympics: IOC confirms

Cricket fails to be part of 2028 Los Angeles Olympics: IOC confirms: In a disappointing development, International Olympic Committee (IOC) has confirmed that cricket has failed to be a part of the 2028 Olympics which will be held in Los Angeles, USA. The message has been conveyed to the governing cricket body International Cricket Committee (ICC) by the International Olympic Committee.

The ICC will now have to prepare a fresh pitch for the next Olympics, which will be the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. The process for the same is likely to begin soon.

ICC will now form a new Olympic committee to push for cricket’s inclusion in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics. As per the reports, the committee will be headed by BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who also represents the Indian cricket board at the ICC.

Interestingly, the International Olympic Committee (IOC), on August 2022, shortlisted cricket for a review along with eight other sports across different disciplines. The other eight sports were baseball/softball, lacrosse, break dancing, flag football, kickboxing, squash, karate and motorsport.

Notably, Cricket has once featured in the Olympics back in 1900, which was held in Paris, with France and Britain as the only two participants.

In February 2022, the IOC said that a total of 28 sporting events will be part of the Los Angeles Games and also added that the ‘potential new sports’ will be considered with a focus on youth.

As per the ICC, a sport must clear some criteria in order to be included in the Olympic games which include – engaging the best athletes and sports with safety and health first, cost and complexity reduction, host country interest, global appeal, gender equality, upholding integrity and fairness to support clean sports, youth relevance, and long-term sustainability.

Notably, cricket was included in the 2022 Commonwealth games where an eight-team Women’s T20 tournament was held. However, for a sport to be a part of Olympics, it must be both for men and women.

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