The International Cricket Council (ICC) is keeping its faith in women to play a crucial role in the growth of the sport at the Commonwealth Games 2022, where they will compete in a T20 format.

“Putting cricket in multi-sport games is good for the growth of the game. It gives a lot of the member countries a seat in the top table of sport organisations within their country,” ICC CEO Geoff Allardice told the Times of India.

The ICC official also stressed how cricket can discover new audiences with its inclusion at the Commonwealth Games.

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“The coverage of these games may not have traditional cricket audiences. That is one of the opportunities with CWG to reach new audiences,” he added.

This is the first time since 1998 when cricket has been added to the roster at the Commonwealth Games. Eight teams are participating in the event, who have been divided into two groups and will begin when Australia and India face off on July 29.

Women’s cricket is on the rise and while men’s cricket has been delivering revenues, experts are predicting the time is not far when women’s cricket will be producing similar results. Allardice seemed the agree with the notion as he revealed that he feels the sport will be one of the top attractions of multi-sport events in the future.

“The quality of our top women’s events has been outstanding the last five years. We heard from a number of captains last night, they are very excited to be around athletes from other sports,” he quipped.

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“I am sure cricket will be a star attraction as we move forward with our ambitions to be part of more multi-sport events,” he added.

The ICC has been trying to get a spot for cricket at the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. The ICC CEO revealed that the world governing body is currently in dialogue with the organisers, with a decision pending in 2023.

“We have declared our ambition to be in the Olympics. We are assisting the LA organisers to help their assessment. The decision is due next year. As of now, there’s nothing recorded,” he revealed.