ICC announces proposal to make cricket a part of 2028 Los Angeles Olympics

The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday announced its intention to push for cricket’s entry into the Olympics. The governing body of the sport said on its website that a working group has been formed to lead the bid for cricket becoming part of the 2028 Los Angeles Games. In December last year, it was reported that the Board of Control for Cricket in India ( BCCI) had agreed to back ICC’s bid for cricket’s inclusion at the 2028 Olympics. [caption id=“attachment_8564091” align=“alignnone” width=“640”]  The International Cricket Council (ICC) logo. Reuters[/caption] “Thirty-million cricket fans live in the USA, making LA 2028 the ideal Games for cricket to make its return to Olympic competition. Cricket, till now, has made just one appearance in the Olympics, way back in 1900 in Paris when only two teams competed at the event – Great Britain and hosts France – meaning the sport’s inclusion in 2028 would mark the end of a 128-year absence,” ICC said. “The sport will feature in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games next year, which shapes as a perfect showcase for what the sport can bring to the Olympics, as well as being a momentous occasion on its own.” The Olympic working group will be headed by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) chair Ian Watmore, ICC independent director Indra Nooyi, chair of Zimbabwe Cricket Tavengwa Mukuhlani, ICC associate member director and vice president of the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) Mahinda Vallipuram and chair of USA Cricket Paraag Marathe will also be part of the working group. ICC chairman Greg Barclay said the addition of cricket to the Olympics would be a win-win situation for both the sport and the Games. “Our sport is united behind this bid, and we see the Olympics as a part of cricket’s long-term future. We have more than a billion fans globally and almost 90 percent of them want to see cricket at the Olympics," he said. “Clearly cricket has a strong and passionate fanbase, particularly in South Asia where 92% of our fans come from whilst there are also 30 million cricket fans in the USA. The opportunity for those fans to see their heroes competing for an Olympic medal is tantalising.” “We believe cricket would be a great addition to the Olympic Games, but we know it won’t be easy to secure our inclusion as there are so many other great sports out there wanting to do the same. But we feel now is the time to put our best foot forward and show what a great partnership cricket and the Olympics are.”