Whereas the cricket fever is reaching a boiling level in India, due to the high-octane drama of IPL 2025, the larger wave is forming on the worldwide stage — cricket is formally making its return to the Olympics! Sure, you learn that proper. After over a century-long hiatus, the sound of leather-based on willow will echo within the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Video games. Now, this isn’t simply any comeback, it’s a historic re-entry. Cricket is considered one of 5 new sports activities which have been added to the LA28 lineup, becoming a member of the likes of baseball/softball, flag soccer, lacrosse (sixes), and squash. The choice was greenlit by the Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2023, marking a brand new period for the game on the worldwide stage.
Cricket on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics What’s going to Olympic cricket seem like?
Not like the lengthy, drawn-out codecs traditionalists are used to, the Olympic model of cricket goes brief and snappy. The T20 format, identified for its excessive power and edge-of-the-seat motion, might be used for each males’s and ladies’s tournaments. Excellent for an occasion as fast-paced and various because the Olympics.
Moreover, every match will characteristic six groups, with 90 athlete slots allotted per gender. Meaning each nation can carry a 15-player squad, packing expertise and technique right into a compact workforce. It’s your favourite sport in your favorite format, however streamlined for the world’s greatest sporting stage.
Who’s within the combine?
The Worldwide Cricket Council (ICC) at present has 12 full member nations, together with powerhouses like India, Australia, England, Pakistan, and South Africa, together with others akin to Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Eire, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, the West Indies, and Zimbabwe. These international locations are more likely to be on the coronary heart of the Olympic motion. Whereas the precise qualification path hasn’t been revealed but, one factor we are able to depend on is that america, because the host nation, is all however assured a spot. That leaves simply 5 slots up for grabs. The highest 5 groups within the ICC rankings (as of a yet-to-be-announced deadline) are anticipated to qualify instantly, making each worldwide match till then much more essential.
For a sport that’s wildly well-liked throughout continents — from the stadiums of Mumbai to the seashores of Barbados — the Olympic stage affords an unparalleled alternative to develop the sport additional. So, whereas IPL 2025 continues to dazzle with its sixes and tremendous overs, preserve one eye on the horizon — as a result of in just some years, cricket received’t simply be a summer time custom or a nationwide obsession. It’ll be an Olympic dream.