Things are going very well for cricket as far as inclusion in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028 is concerned. Sources in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the International Cricket Council (ICC) have both confirmed to Revsportz that unless something goes dramatically wrong in the next month or so, cricket is all set to be announced as an Olympic sport at the IOC session in Mumbai in October 2023.
While the ICC has pitched for cricket’s inclusion by saying that it will also add a huge value monetarily for the IOC and allow it to establish a foothold in the growing Indian market, the IOC have now taken things as far forward as discussing likely venues. One of the venues being discussed is the KKR stadium to be build for Major League Cricket in the US.
With Jay Shah heading the project on behalf of the ICC and with Mrs. Nita Ambani leading the staging of the IOC session in India in October, cricket’s inclusion is being looked upon as a major victory for her as India’s IOC member. With the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane, it is only natural that cricket will continue as an Olympic sport in Australia once it is included in LA.
“There have been regular deliberations on the matter and things are all on track,” said a source in the know. “In fact, details are now being finalised and all looks good.”
It could well be a huge highlight if cricket makes it, and the announcement is made at the IOC session, which will be held in the middle of the World Cup in India in October.
Just going by the numbers, cricket’s inclusion in the world’s greatest sporting spectacle is a no-brainer. With billions now watching the sport, in South Asia and its ever growing diaspora, cricket is the perfect foil for the IOC to enter a market that has so far remained untapped. The Olympics, which claims to be a global movement, has yet to set foot in South Asia. And that’s something it has to do sooner rather than later. Cricket, it may be said, will open up South Asia for the IOC like nothing else could.