Cricket to feature in LA 2028 Olympics

Cricket’s return to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028 will take the form of a six-team T20 tournament for both men and women.

The tournament will feature six teams, with each squad allowed to field up to 15 players, bringing the total athlete quota to 90 per gender.

While the qualification process for teams remains undisclosed, the IOC is understood to be keen to use cricket to further engage India with the Olympics. India, the current T20 World Cup champions, have been a major draw for fans at recent events, including the 2024 World Cup co-hosted by the United States, presenting a significant commercial opportunity for the IOC and its sponsors.

Discussions around the inclusion of cricket in LA 2028 have also involved key figures, including IOC president Kirsty Coventry and International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah, who met in Dubai during the recent Champions Trophy to address the topic.

Cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics marks its return after more than a century. The sport’s only previous appearance at the Games was at Paris 1900, where Great Britain defeated France by 158 runs in a one-off final after the Netherlands and Belgium withdrew from the competition.

The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has reportedly engaged in preliminary discussions with Cricket Scotland regarding the potential formation of a TeamGB squad for the tournament.

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