New Delhi: The International Cricket Council has confirmed its bid for the Olympic berth of Los Angeles 2028. Thus, the top cricket governing body has taken the first step to incorporate the game in the Olympics. So far Cricket was only played in the 1900 edition of the Olympics with Great Britain winning the Gold medal. On Monday, BCCI secretary Jay Shah had confirmed that India will take part in the Olympics if the game is included in Los Angeles 2028 Games. Earlier, the BCCI  was not ready to take part in the Olympics but things have changed since Jay Shah has taken charge.

The ICC has convened a Working Group to lead the bid on behalf of the sport. England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) head Ian Watmore will be head of the ICC Olympic Working Group and he will have the company of ICC Independent Director Indra Nooyi, chief of Zimbabwe Cricket Tavengwa Mukuhlani, ICC Associate Member Director and Vice President of the Asian Cricket Council Mahinda Vallipuram and chair of USA Cricket Paraag Marathe. In fact, the inclusion of Marathe is a strategic move as the Games will be played in USA in 2028.

ICC chairman Greg Barclay said: “Firstly on behalf of everyone at the ICC, I would like to congratulate the IOC, Tokyo 2020 and the people of Japan for staging such an incredible Games in such difficult circumstances. It truly was fantastic to watch and captured the imagination of the world and we would love for cricket to be a part of future Games.

“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. Clearly, cricket has a strong and passionate fan base, particularly in South Asia where 92% 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.

“We believe cricket would be a great addition to the Olympic Games, but we know it won’t be easy to secure our inclusion as there are so many other great sports out there wanting to do the same. But we feel now is the time to put our best foot forward and show what a great partnership cricket and the Olympics could be.”

Said Marathe, “USA Cricket is thrilled to be able to support cricket’s bid for inclusion in the Olympics, the timing of which aligns perfectly with our continuing plans to develop the sport in the USA. 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.”