Cricket set to be included in 2028 Los Angeles Olympics
Olympics cricket
After an absence of 128 years, cricket is set to return to the Olympics.According to aGuardianreport, cricket has been included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics - marking a tectonic shift in the history of the sport. Apart from cricket, other sports such as flag football, baseball and softball have also found space in the quadrennial event.
The LA organising committee, responsible for choosing the sporting disciplines, is expected to go public with the decision in the next 24 hours before making it official at the 141st International Olympic Committee (IOC) session scheduled to take place in Mumbai on Sunday.
"LA28's proposed sports ignite the imagination on the field of play and drive culture off it. They're relevant, innovative and community-based, played in backyards, schoolyards, community centres, stadiums and parks across the US and the globe," saidCasey Wasserman, LA28's chairperson, in a media release on Monday (Oct9).
This will be the first time since the Paris Olympics in 1900 that cricket will find space in the Olympics. At the time, the match was played between Great Britain, represented by Devon and Somerset Wanderers, and France, with the former registering a 185-run victory in a 12-a-side match.
The choice of format will be T20 and both men's and women's tournaments will open up in the city. Although the qualification system is not clear yet, a previous report claimed that the top five ranked teams will make the cut for the tournament.
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ICC stops with the gatekeeping
The inclusion of cricket in the mega-event suggests that ICC - the governing body of cricket globally, had finally evolved to expand the game. For years, ICC had been accused of gatekeeping the sport despite its immense popularity across the globe.
Moreover, it points to the growing appetite of the IOC to tap the Indian market and its huge financial prowess. Cricket is incredibly popular in India as well as the subcontinent and the Indian Premier League (IPL) often rivals other sporting events.
Currently, the Olympic broadcast rights in India for individual sports are reported to be worth just $20 million. However, with the inclusion of cricket, and a number of guaranteed matches of India, the figure could easily rise to $183 million, a report claimed.
The inclusion of cricket comes in the background of Major League Cricket being introduced in the USA, earlier this year.
(With inputs from agencies)
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