T20 cricket to feature at Los Angeles Olympics 2028? Here's what we know so far-

Though cricket enjoys a pretty sizeable following in several big countries across the world including India, the sport has not been part of the Olympics for a long time.

 

 

In fact it has not been featured in the biggest multi-sport event for the past 123 years, as it was last featured in the 1900 Olympics. However, now it looks like the gentleman's game is finally set to return in the Olympics after 128 year at Los Angeles, thanks to the T20 format.

 

This came after a report by UK-based newspaper The Guardian, claimed that cricket is very likely to feature in the 2028 Olympics at Los Angeles, USA. Both men's and women's matches in the T20 format will likely be played at the Games, with the prestigious gold medals at stake. The report states that this is being considered to open up a lucrative market in the subcontinent.

 

The current proposal is for a 5-team competition for both men's and women's tournaments at the Los Angeles 2028 Games. The qualified teams will be based on their ICC rankings during that time.

 

According to the report, the broadcast rights for the Olympics are sold in India for indvidual Games and it is reported to be worth just Rs 16.44 crore. However, if cricket is included in both the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, then the deal could rise by almost 100 times to a whopping Rs 1587 crores.

 

There is a fully operational cricket stadium in Florida at Fort Lauderdale where several international cricket matches have been played. If this does happen, then England will have to play in the tournament as Great Britain.

 

Cricket was last played as a one-off gold medal match in the 1900 Olympics.

 

The sport has been part of multi-sporting events for the past few years. A women's T20 tournament took place at the 2022 Commonwealth Games, while the Asian Games too will feature both men's and women's cricket in 2023 at Huangzhou, China.