Cricket could make Olympic return, after a gap of 128 years, at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles and beyond, according to a report by The Guardian.
Cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics is “very likely” and will included men’s and women’s Twenty20 competitions.
Including cricket in the Olympics will help the organisers tap into the lucrative commercial market in the sub-continent.
Five teams in each competition could be part of the event, with qualification based on the International Cricket Council’s world rankings. This would be the first time cricket will be at the Olympics since a one-off gold medal match in the 1900 Paris Games.
“It would also see the realisation of a long-term aim at the ICC, past indifference to the Olympics having been replaced by a desire to expand the sport globally in recent years and resulting in a women’s T20 tournament at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham,” the report stated.
“There is also a strong financial incentive for the International Olympic Committee, which made cricket one of nine shortlisted sports for LA 2028 along with baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse, break dancing, karate, kickboxing, squash and motorsport.
“The current Olympic broadcast rights in India are sold for individual Games and reported to be worth just £15.6m ($20m) for Paris 2024. But industry experts have told the Guardian that, depending on the format and the number of guaranteed matches for India, this figure could be worth up to £150m if cricket is included in LA 2028 and then Brisbane in 2032.
“Commercial arrangements are viewed as the only realistic stumbling block. But it does mean staging the men’s T20 World Cup in West Indies and the USA next June is imperative, amid recent reports it could be moved to England due to concerns over infrastructure in the States; reports which continue to be played down by the ICC and the England and Wales Cricket Board.”