LA28 Olympics: Cricket, to be played for first time since 1900, will be six-team event across men's and women's categories

Cricket is making a return to Olympics for the first time since a transient appearance in 1900 Paris Olympics. The upcoming Los Angeles 2028 Olympics will see the return of cricket in T20 format and the same was confirmed by International Olympic Committee's members in October 2023 in Mumbai, India. The IOC has announced that the LA28 Olympics will be a six-team event for both men's and women's category. The qualification on the teams or the process by which it'll be done isn't clear as of now. Also Watch: CONCACAF Champions Cup: Lionel Messi conjures surreal magic as Inter Miami snatch come-from-behind victory over LAFC The host nation, the US in this case, participates and is given a direct entry usually but this could affect the representation of other nations in the event. The International Cricket Council (ICC) in 2023 had suggested that the participation of team be done on ranking basis in T20Is at a cut-off date. This, however, could affect USA's participation which is not a full member of ICC as of now. "Normally, the host country is one of the teams in the team sports, and then we look at a balance of global strength and regional representation, and try and find that balance within the available quota as well," Kit McConnell, the IOC's sports director, had said in October 2023 while approving cricket for the LA28 Olympics. The other question could pop up for West Indies as it is not a country but a group of seven Caribbean countries. In Olympics, the group nations of West Indies, eg Jamaica, Barbados etc. represent themselves individually. As for the strength of squad, each team will have to name 15-member squads which means 90-member strength for the even in each category. The event could be a great chance for India to win a gold the quadrennial event given their strong record in the sport at the global level. The women's team too isn't too far behind than its competitors and could be considered a serious contender for the gold medal.

LA28 Olympics: Cricket, to be played for first time since 1900, will be six-team event across men's and women's categories

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