Cricket is officially returning to the Olympic Games for the first time in 128 years, with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirming its inclusion in the LA 2028 Olympics.
Both the men’s and women‘s events will be played in the T20 format, featuring only six teams per gender.
According to the official Olympics website, “Cricket at the LA 2028 Olympic Games will feature six teams each in the men’s and women’s tournaments,” with 90 athlete quotas per gender.
This structure allows for 15-player squads per team, bringing the total number of cricketers at the Games to 180. “The schedule will be finalised closer to the Games,” the IOC noted.
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Major step for cricket—but participation cap sparks concern
While the LA28 announcement is being celebrated as a watershed moment for the sport, the limited number of teams is raising red flags within the cricketing community.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) currently includes 12 Full Members and 94 Associate Nations—making the six-team format highly competitive and potentially exclusionary.
The qualification process has yet to be confirmed. It remains unclear whether the USA, as hosts, will receive automatic entry into either or both tournaments, or whether qualification will be based on rankings, regional tournaments, or other criteria.
By comparison, cricket has had broader participation at other multi-sport events. The 2023 Asian Games featured 14 men’s and 9 women’s teams, and the 2022 Commonwealth Games included 8 women’s sides. In contrast, Olympic football at LA28 will feature 12 teams per gender—raising questions about cricket’s global inclusion goals.
Cricket joins Olympic program after 128-year absence
Cricket last featured at the Olympics in Paris 1900, where Great Britain played France in a one-off match that is now officially recognized as a Test. Its reintroduction at LA28 signals a dramatic shift in the sport’s international visibility and the IOC’s willingness to embrace globally popular formats.
Cricket is one of five new sports added to the 2028 Games, joining baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes), and squash. The decision reflects the IOC’s desire to feature events with high global engagement and strong youth appeal.
As of now, the venues for Olympic cricket remain unconfirmed. However, Oakland Coliseum, set to make its Major League Cricket debut in June 2025, is considered a leading candidate due to its capacity and proximity to a large South Asian diaspora.
Jay Shah and the ICC’s long-term Olympic strategy
This Olympic milestone aligns with the ICC’s broader strategic goals. ICC Chair Jay Shah has made Olympic inclusion a top priority, having recently traveled to Brisbane to initiate discussions around cricket’s potential presence at the 2032 Olympics.
Shah’s lobbying highlights the ICC’s intent to establish cricket not as a one-time Olympic sport, but as a permanent fixture in the Olympic calendar. The governing body has also worked to make the T20 format more accessible and suitable for global events, recognizing its faster pace and wider appeal.
Next steps: qualification, venues, and representation
With Olympic inclusion now confirmed, attention turns to several critical questions: how will teams qualify, which cities will host the matches, and how can cricket balance elite competition with global representation?
While fans and stakeholders celebrate the return of cricket to the world’s largest sporting stage, the real challenge lies in ensuring that the Olympic debut leads to long-term growth—not just for cricket’s elite, but for the entire global cricketing community.
