As cricket begins preparations for a grand return to Olympics after 128 years, the Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved that the men’s and women’s cricket events at the LA 2028 Olympics will be six-team competitions.
A total of 90 players will participate in each event. The sport will be played in the T20 format at the world’s biggest multi-sport spectacle, set to take place in Los Angeles in 2028.
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Cricket is one of five new sports that will be included in the Los Angeles Olympics, alongside squash, flag football, baseball/softball, and lacrosse. The qualification criteria for cricket at the Olympics are yet to be finalised, and so are the venues, although New York could be the frontrunner to host the matches.
Cricket last featured at the Olympic Games in 1900, when it was contested by just two teams – Great Britain and France. Great Britain went on to win the only cricket Olympics Gold Medal thus far by winning what was a 2-day game.
Cricket has recently seen a resurgence in major multi-sport events. At the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, women’s cricket was featured for the first time, with Australia claiming gold and India taking silver. In the 2023 Asian Games held in Hangzhou, 14 men’s teams and 9 women’s teams participated, with India securing gold in both categories.
The process to include cricket in the Los Angeles Games began in August 2021, when the International Cricket Council (ICC) formally announced its intent to campaign for its inclusion. This led to a collaborative effort between the ICC and the LA28 Organising Committee, culminating in October 2023 when cricket was officially proposed as one of five new sports.
Meanwhile, the 2028 Games will feature a total of 351 medal events, 22 more than the Paris Olympics. The core athlete quota remains at 10,500, with an additional 698 athletes allocated across the five new sports, the IOC announced.
