After returning to the Commonwealth Games, cricket received a major boost to be part of the Olympics following its addition to the shortlisted sports that will be reviewed by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for addition to the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
The organising committee of the 2028 Los Angeles Games asked the International Cricket Council (ICC) to make their case. A final decision on the inclusion of cricket is expected in the second quarter of 2023 as the IOC is scheduled to meet in Mumbai. Notably, it was the ICC and the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) who lobbied for the addition of women's cricket to the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
Cricket, along with eight other sports - baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse, break dancing, karate, kickboxing, squash and motorsport, is vying for a spot at the 2028 Los Angeles Games.
Earlier in February, the IOC signalled 28 sports to be part of the LA Games with a focus on the youth. At the same time, it came up with a means to determine "potential new sports" and decide whether they would make a good fit at the Olympics.
The International Cricket Council believes that cricket is indeed in a good position to be part of the Olympics. The ICC CEO Geoff Allardice said that cricket has been "a star attraction" at the 2022 Commonwealth Games.
"We've seen from the Commonwealth Games how much the world's best players have enjoyed playing in front of big crowds and what I'm sure will be large TV audiences," Allardice told ESPNcricinfo.
Although only women's cricket made it to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, at the Olympics a sport needs to feature both male and female athletes. The ICC is confident that cricket has sufficient global reach to become part of the multi-sport event.