Cricket pushes for 2028 Olympic inclusion
Cricket has joined netball in pushing for Olympic inclusion, with the International Cricket Council wanting the sport introduced for the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
The ICC has convened a working group to lead the bid on behalf of cricket to get the sport included at the Olympics for the first time since the 1900 Games in Paris.
It comes a day after Netball Australia made a bold push for netball to be included for the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.
Skateboarding, surfing, and climbing were some of the new sports that made their Olympic debut in Tokyo to favourable reviews.
If cricket is included, it's likely to be in the T20 format.
ICC chairman Greg Barclay feels cricket deserves to win an Olympic spot in time for the 2028 LA Games.
"Our sport is united behind this bid, and we see the Olympics as a part of cricket's long-term future," Barclay said.
"We have more than a billion fans globally and almost 90 per cent of them want to see cricket at the Olympics.
"Clearly cricket has a strong and passionate fanbase, particularly in South Asia where 92 per cent of our fans come from, whilst there are also 30 million cricket fans in the USA.
"The opportunity for those fans to see their heroes competing for an Olympic medal is tantalising."
Chairman of USA cricket Paraag Marathe feels the inclusion of cricket for the LA Olympics would help grow the sport in the lucrative United States market.
"With so many passionate cricket fans and players already in the USA, and a huge global audience and following for the sport around the world, we believe that cricket's inclusion will add great value to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and help us to achieve our own vision for establishing cricket as a mainstream sport in this country," Marathe said.
