ICC hopeful of crickets inclusion in the 2028 Olympics

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is
still hopeful of cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics as the
International Olympic Committee (IOC) started the process of identifying the
core sports for the grand sporting spectacle.

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The IOC on Thursday named 28 sports in the
“initial programme” for the 2028 Olympics with skateboarding, surfing
and sport climbing finding places in them. Boxing, weightlifting and modern
pentathlon were excluded and the respective international federations have been
given time until 2023 to meet certain criteria to secure their spot at the 2028
Games, reported PTI.

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The selected sports will be put to vote in
the IOC Session in Beijing in February next year for approval, which is likely
to be a formality.

Host City Los Angeles can also propose
additional sports in 2023 to be included in the 2028 Games and the ICC is
hoping that cricket is among sports to get the approval of the IOC. Cricket
could face tough competition from Baseball, softball and a version of American
football.

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“The process to pick additional sports
by the host city starts next year (2023) and we are hoping cricket to be a part
of that,” an ICC Board member, who is privy to the process, told PTI on
conditions of anonymity.

“We know it will be tough (for cricket
to be included as an additional sport). There are no guarantees and we are up
against some other great sports to try and get a spot in the 2028 LA
Games.”

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ICC has the
backing of BCCI            

In August, the ICC said that it would bid
for cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, which also had
backing from the world’s richest board BCCI. The ICC has also formed an Olympic
Working Group which will work on making the game part of the Olympics starting
from 2028.

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“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,” ICC chairman Greg Barclay had said then.

In 2024, the IOC will take a call on the
additional sports proposed by the LA Games organisers. Following Tokyo and
Paris (2024), Los Angeles Olympics will be the third host which will propose
additional sports in its programme.

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At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, six new sports
— baseball, softball, karate, skateboarding, sport climbing, and surfing —
were featured as additional sports. Surfing and break-dancing will be among
additional sports in the 2024 Paris Games.