Will cricket be part of Olympics in the future?

After women's cricket made its debut in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth games. Now the men's and women's cricket event will be part of Asian Games 2023. After the inclusion of cricket in such big events, fans have been wondering when cricket would make its debut in the Olympics. Luckily, rumors have been circulating online that cricket will be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. 

Will cricket be part of the Olympics in the future?

The IOC (International Olympic Committee) has shortlisted cricket to make its debut in the 2028 Olympics along with baseball/softball, lacrosse, break dancing, karate, kick-boxing, squash, and motor sport. According to various sources, the IOC has requested the ICC (International Cricket Council) to submit a presentation to include cricket in the 2028 Olympics. 

The reason why cricket hasn't been part of the Olympics all these years is because it was impractical for long cricket tournaments to be added to an event in 16 days. The T20 World Cup takes one-and-a-half months to be completed while the 50 overs World Cup takes around 2 months to be completed. Another reason why cricket was not included in the Olympics is due to the host countries. The countries that hosted the Olympics till now do not play cricket, which will lead to lack of fans attending the games.

However, if the presentation submitted by the ICC follows the standards set by the IOC, it is likely that cricket will make its debut in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. As per the IOC, the sport must include priorities to cost and complexity reduction, engaging the best athletes and sports with safety and health being the first priority. Global appeal, host country interest, gender equality, youth relevance, upholding integrity and fairness to support clean sports and long term sustainability. 

 Cricket has been included in the Olympics once. It made its debut in the Paris 1900 Summer Olympics. Great Britain and France were the only teams participating where Great Britain beat France by 158 runs. 

Cricket has appeared twice in the Commonwealth Games. Once in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur and the latest edition hosted by Birmingham. South Africa ended up receiving the gold medals, followed by Australia receiving the silver medals and New Zealand receiving the bronze medals.

The inclusion of cricket in the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth games was a success as fans purchased over 1,50,000 tickets to see the women compete at the highest levels. Australia received their gold medals, while India and New Zealand received the silver and bronze medals respectively.

Cover Credit - ZEE5official