Cricket’s push for Olympic inclusion: ICC proposes 6-team T20 competition for both men and women at 2028 LA Games

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has proposed six-team T20 events for both men and women for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games organizing committee (LA28).

Earlier, some reports claimed that cricket would not make it to the 2028 LA Olympics. However, according to ESPNcricino, a final call will be taken by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) around October.

The LA28 organizers are expected to finalize the list of new sports for the 2028 edition by March. The same will be ratified at the IOC's session in Mumbai, which is likely to take place around October.

In the event of ICC’s proposal being accepted, the top six men’s and women’s T20I teams as per the official rankings on the cut-off date are likely to feature in the 2028 LA Olympics.

The report added that the T20 version was proposed by the ICC for the Olympics since they were informed by LA28 and the IOC that the format should be one in which there is a world championship conducted and has a compact duration as well.

Further, it has been learned that LA28 has instructed the ICC that if cricket does get the go-ahead, both the men's and women's events will need to be restricted to a single venue. Incidentally, cricket was played at a single venue (Edgbaston) during the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, which saw women’s T20 teams competing in the event.

Apart from cricket, baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse, break dancing, karate, kickboxing, squash, and motorsport are also competing for a place in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The IOC will review all the proposals before finalizing the sports that could be added to the list of 28, which were already finalized in February 2022.

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BCCI secretary Jay Shah added to ICC's Olympics working group

In a related development, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah has been added to the ICC's Olympics working group. The committee, which is headed by ICC chairman Greg Barclay, also comprises Indra Nooyi (independent director), and former USA Cricket president Paraag Marathe.

The addition of Shah is being viewed as a strategic move. The ICC believes Shah's involvement could perhaps give them a potentially influential push in their negotiations with the IOC for cricket to be included in the Olympics.