Only the best should showcase cricket in Olympics return at LA 2028
FILE PHOTO: Cricket - Second Twenty20 International - England v West Indies - Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol, Britain - June 8, 2025 England's Brydon Carse in action as he hits four runs to win the match Action Images via Reuters/Matthew Childs/File Photo REUTERS
Only the best should showcase cricket in Olympics return at LA 2028
Cricket will return to the Olympics after 128 years at the 2028 Games and the popular view is only the best teams should showcase the game in Los Angeles, even if it means leaving out hosts the United States.
Both the men's and women's competitions will be a six-team contest in the 20-overs format when cricket is played in the Olympics for the first time since 1900.
The International Cricket Council is yet to announce the qualification format but is likely to pick the top six teams in the official rankings at a cut-off date.
The U.S. rank 17th in the men's list and 24th in the women's, which make their position untenable in the cricket competitions of their home Olympics.
"I'd love an associate member to get in there but let's be realistic," Sumod Damodar, who represents associate members like the U.S. in the ICC Chief Executives' Committee, told Reuters.
"Should the U.S. get an automatic place? I'll say let's put the best that we can on show.
"We're coming back into the Olympics after 128 years. We need to make that impressions so that people will say, 'Okay, we don't want them to go back and beg 'please include us' before every Olympics'.
"Like track and field, we need to become a regular Olympic fixture. We need to show them that this product is worth it."
With Brisbane hosting the 2032 Olympics and India bidding for the 2036 Games, Botswana cricket chief Damodar hoped cricket will feature in the next three Olympics and beyond.
"We need to send the best six teams to showcase our game from the perspective of what it has in store for us, for the public, and the spectators in the future Olympic Games," he said.
Damodar added the ICC should announce a cut-off date sometime next year giving all members enough time to improve their rankings.
USA Cricket did not reply to a Reuters email seeking its view but Sanjay Govil, who owns the Washington Freedom franchise in the Major League Cricket (MLC) in the U.S., also said only the best should represent cricket at Los Angeles.
"It should be based on merit, because we also want to make sure that it's competitive, right?" Govil told Reuters.
"I think we should have the six best teams because otherwise it would be unfair to leave out a team to accommodate USA." REUTERS
Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Raducanu powers into Queen's Club quarters as last Briton standing
Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 12, 2025 Russia's Diana Shnaider in action during her round of 16 match against Britain's Katie Boulter REUTERS/Toby Melville Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 12, 2025 Kazakhstan's Elena Rybakina in action during her round of 16 match against Britain's Heather Watson REUTERS/Toby Melville Tennis - Queen's Club Championships - Queen's Club, London, Britain - June 12, 2025 Britain's Emma Raducanu in action during her round of 16 match against Slovakia's Rebecca Sramkova REUTERS/Toby Melville LONDON - Emma Raducanu cruised into the quarter-finals at the Queen's Club Championships with a 6-4 6-1 victory over Rebecca Sramkova on Thursday but fellow Britons Katie Boulter and Heather Watson were knocked out. The stands at the Andy Murray Arena were packed for Raducanu's victory as she advanced as the lone Briton left in the tournament and she will potentially play top seed and Paris Olympic champion Zheng Qinwen, who is playing later on Thursday. Raducanu raced into a 5-0 lead as the 22-year-old looked at ease on the grass but Sramkova saved two set points in the sixth game, finding her range in a comeback that quickly gathered pace. The Slovakian won four games on the trot as Raducanu's winners dried up but the Briton then recovered and served to love to seal the opening set, flashing a sheepish smile at her team as she walked back to her seat. Raducanu took confidence from her first serve and she started the second set as she did the first, racing into a 4-0 lead after she quickly consolidated a double break when Sramkova made a slew of errors. Raducanu then won the contest by converting a sixth break point, with victory confirming the former U.S. Open champion's status as the British number one again, leapfrogging her doubles partner Boulter. "I don't think it was my cleanest performance, but I'm really happy to have pushed through in some tight moments that decided the first set," Raducanu said. "It was really helpful... to have a big roar of support to get me through that last service game. So I appreciate that." Fourth seed Elena Rybakina showcased her power as she fired nine aces to beat Watson 6-4 6-2 after the Briton failed to capitalise on seven break points. Former Wimbledon champion Rybakina also became the first female player to fire 200 aces this year. "It was a tough match, she played really well. I am pretty happy with my game, especially in the second set," Rybakina said. "Hopefully with every match it will be better and better. I am enjoying my time here." Meanwhile, Russian fifth seed Diana Shnaider fought back from a set down to beat Boulter 2-6 6-3 6-2 to set up a quarter-final with Australian Open champion Madison Keys. "Katie is such a lovely person, I love her with all my heart. To play her and beat her in front of her home crowd, I am so sorry," Shnaider said. "I hope you don't hate me too much and come support me tomorrow!" REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
an hour ago
- Straits Times
Galatasaray sign Bayern Munich's Sane
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Bundesliga - RB Leipzig v Bayern Munich - Red Bull Arena, Leipzig, Germany - May 3, 2025 Bayern Munich's Leroy Sane celebrates scoring their third goal REUTERS/Annegret Hilse DFL REGULATIONS PROHIBIT ANY USE OF PHOTOGRAPHS AS IMAGE SEQUENCES AND/OR QUASI-VIDEO./File Photo Galatasaray have signed Germany winger Leroy Sane, who will join the club as a free agent on a three-year deal when he leaves Bayern Munich at the end of this month, Turkish Super Lig champions Galatasaray said on Thursday. The 29-year-old Sane said farewell to Bayern fans in a video posted on social media on Thursday. Sane, capped 70 times for Germany, has bagged 61 goals and registered 55 assists in 220 appearances for Bayern in all competitions. He has won four Bundesliga titles, DFL-Supercups, a UEFA Super Cup and the Club World Cup with the German champions. Sane joined Bayern in 2020 on a five-year deal from Manchester City, where he won the Premier League title in 2018 and 2019. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
Straits Times
2 hours ago
- Straits Times
Zverev overcomes Moutet to reach Stuttgart quarters
FILE PHOTO: Jun 4, 2025; Paris, FR; Alexander Zverev of Germany during his match against Novak Djokovic of Serbia on day 11 at Roland Garros Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Susan Mullane-Imagn Images/File Photo REUTERS STUTTGART, Germany - German top seed Alexander Zverev beat Frenchman Corentin Moutet 6-2 7-6(7) on Thursday to reach the Stuttgart Open quarter-finals, staying on course in his Wimbledon tune-up after a quarter-final run at Roland Garros. Zverev has long struggled on grass. The 28-year-old has won 24 tour-level titles but none on grass and has never gone past the fourth round at Wimbledon. Zverev, a three-times Grand Slam finalist, raced through the first set, but Moutet responded well in the second, taking an early 2-1 lead. The set tightened as both players traded breaks to reach 4-4, before Zverev held his nerve in the tiebreak to close out the match. "I prefer to win 6-2 6-2, but you can never choose these kind of things but in the end I won and that's the most important thing," said Zverev, who last played at Stuttgart in 2019. "I think the first match on grass was never easy. I honestly think it was a very average match. I made it complicated, but a win is a win and I'm happy to play tomorrow again." Fourth seed Felix Auger-Aliassime earned his first win on grass since Halle in 2022, defeating Giovanni Mpetshi Perricard 6-4 6-4 to move into the quarter-finals in Stuttgart. The 24-year-old Canadian will next face German teenager Justin Engel. Wildcard Engel, who won his first tour-level grasscourt match in the previous round, stunned American seventh seed Alex Michelsen 6-4 6-4, breaking for 2-1 in both sets and holding serve throughout without facing a single break point. The 17-year-old Engel becomes the youngest Stuttgart quarter-finalist and also the youngest player to reach the quarter-finals of an ATP grasscourt event since 1985, when Boris Becker made it to the Wimbledon quarter-finals. REUTERS Join ST's Telegram channel and get the latest breaking news delivered to you.
