MUMBAI, India – The resounding cheer of cricket enthusiasts reverberated around the world as the sport made a triumphant return to the Olympic program for the 2028 Los Angeles Games. Cricket, a beloved bat-and-ball game, adored across the Indian subcontinent and beyond, was one of five sports enthusiastically embraced by the International Olympic Committee on a momentous Monday. Alongside cricket, flag football, baseball-softball, lacrosse, and squash found their way into the fold.
"After a wait that has spanned more than a century, our beloved sport is back on the Olympic stage," exalted former India captain Sachin Tendulkar on X, the global social media platform. "This marks the dawn of a new era for cricket, offering a golden opportunity to foster inclusivity and showcase emerging talent from cricketing nations worldwide. It's the commencement of something truly extraordinary!"
The momentous decision unfolded at an IOC meeting in Mumbai, the bustling Indian city currently hosting a series of Cricket World Cup matches. "Our beautiful game of cricket has a rich heritage and a diverse international following," emphasized Pakistan captain Babar Azam, the world's top-ranked one-day international batsman. "It possesses the potential to elevate the spirit of the Olympics to new heights. The presence of cricket in the Olympics will ignite inspiration in a new generation of athletes and fans across the globe."
Although cricket made its Olympic debut in 1900, it had been absent from the Games for well over a century. However, the sport has consistently featured in other multi-sport events such as the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games. Notably, cricket is poised to reappear on the Olympic stage at the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, hosted in cricket-loving Australia.
Players now stand on the cusp of competing for an Olympic gold medal and experiencing the unique ambiance of the Games. Mithali Raj, a former captain of the India women's cricket team, expressed her excitement: "It's also a chance for more fans around the world to relish our fantastic sport."
The International Cricket Council (ICC), over the past two years, diligently worked with the IOC to facilitate cricket's inclusion at the Los Angeles Games. "To have the opportunity to showcase our great sport at the LA28 Games and, hopefully, in many Olympic Games to come, will be momentous for players and fans alike," declared ICC chairman Greg Barclay.
The ICC is hopeful that the Olympics, boasting an estimated audience of over 3 billion, will pave the way for cricket to "engage new audiences and further amplify the sport's global reach, opening the door to a new generation of cricket enthusiasts."
Sunil Gavaskar, another legendary Indian cricketer, eagerly anticipated the prospect of players mingling with athletes from diverse sporting disciplines. He commented during a cricket match between Australia and Sri Lanka, saying, "What an experience it'll be for every team, and particularly the Indian team, to explore the Olympic village and spend time with other athletes, other champions from around the world."
In Australia, the governing body of the sport celebrated the decision as a remarkable opportunity to expand cricket's horizons. "This is a game-changer for our sport, which is already among the fastest-growing in the world," asserted Cricket Australia's chief executive, Nick Hockley. "The Olympic Games will undoubtedly catapult cricket's global reach, inspiring a new generation to embrace and play the game."
At the Los Angeles Olympics, cricket will be a six-team event for both men and women, and the matches will be played in the exhilarating Twenty20 format.
Los Angeles organizing committee sports director Niccolo Campriani expressed his excitement about the format's appeal to younger audiences: "We are thrilled to welcome the world's second-most popular sport, with an estimated 2.5 billion fans worldwide. Some of you might be wondering why in LA? Well, the commitment to grow cricket in the U.S. is real, and it's already happening with the launch of the very first Major League Cricket season earlier this year, which exceeded all expectations. And not to forget, the (men's) T20 World Cup in 2024 coming to the U.S. and West Indies."
Cricket's return to the Olympics promises to be a game-changer for the sport, offering players the chance to chase Olympic glory and expanding the reach of cricket to new horizons. With the anticipation building, fans from around the world eagerly await this historic moment on the grand stage of the Olympics.
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