Cricket Returns To Olympics: 'Love An Associate...' But 'Need To Send The Best'

News18

a day ago

Last Updated:
Cricket returns to the Olympics at 2028 Los Angeles after 128 years, with six teams in the Twenty20 format.
Cricket is set to return to the Olympics after 128 years at the 2028 Games, with the prevailing opinion being that only the best teams should represent the sport in Los Angeles, even if it means excluding the host nation, the United States.
Both the men's and women's competitions will feature six teams in the Twenty20 format when cricket makes its Olympic comeback for the first time since 1900.
The International Cricket Council has yet to announce the qualification process but is expected to select the top six teams in the official rankings by a specific cut-off date.
Currently, the U.S. ranks 17th in the men's standings and 24th in the women's, making their participation in their home Olympics unlikely.
'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, was quoted as saying to 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 hopes cricket will feature in the following 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 that the ICC should announce a cut-off date sometime next year, giving all members ample time to improve their rankings.
USA Cricket did not respond to a Reuters email seeking comment, but Sanjay Govil, who owns the Washington Freedom franchise in the Major League Cricket (MLC) in the U.S., also believes only the best teams should represent cricket in 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."
(With inputs from Reuters)
First Published:
June 11, 2025, 17:38 IST