23 January 2023 , 11:56
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Cricket could return to the Olympics for the 2028 games in Los Angeles after the ICC reportedly recommended the inclusion of a six-team T20 competition for both men and women.
Cricket is one of nine sports that have been shortlisted for review by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for the LA games, with motorsport, karate, baseball/softball, lacrosse, breakdancing, kickboxing, flag football and squash also under consideration.
The ICC is keen for the sport to return for the first time since the 1900 Olympics in Paris, with chair Greg Barclay stating in 2021: "Our sport is united behind this bid, and we see the Olympics as a part of cricket's long-term future.
"We have more than a billion fans globally and almost 90 percent of them want to see cricket at the Olympics." And according to ESPNcricinfo, the ICC have proposed a six-team T20 event to the LA games' organisers.
While the possibility of a T10 had previously been discussed, Olympic chiefs shot down that suggestion as they preferred a format which already had a world championship, making T20 the ideal option.
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The report states the ICC suggested a six-team event for the games as the IOC are trying to 'become more cost efficient'. It claims the tournament is set to involve the top six teams in men and women's cricket and take place entirely at one venue, with the recent women's T20 tournament at the Commonwealth Games staged solely at Edgbaston.
It comes after women's cricket successfully featured at the 2022 Commonwealth Games (Popperfoto via Getty Images)The report adds that the IOC will make a final decision on cricket's inclusion in October, when the next IOC session is due to take place in Mumbai. Notably, Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah has joined the ICC's Olympics working group.
The IOC are keen to expand the reach of the Olympics in India, with the country interested in hosting the 2036 games.
The report states that 'the ICC believes Shah's involvement could lend an important and potentially influential push in its negotiations with the IOC for cricket to be included at sport's biggest global event'.