Cricket to return to the Olympics in 2028

Besides cricket, IOC, which held its session in Mumbai on Monday, also gave its formal approval for including baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes), and squash as new sports in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The global sporting body’s decision will mark the re-entry of cricket since its exclusion from the mega sports event back in 1990.

Cricket will be introduced in the LA Olympics in its Twenty20 format.

IOC President Thomas Bach, at a press conference, said two IOC members opposed the decision, while one abstained from voting.

“The proposal from the Organising Committee of the Olympic Games Los Angeles 2028 (@LA28) to include five new sports in the programme has been accepted by the IOC Session.

Baseball/softball, cricket (T20), flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash will be in the programme at LA28,” IOC said in a tweet.

Bach had earlier said that bids to include these games at the Olympics in 2028 had been submitted.

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised the IOC’s landmark decision to include cricket and four other new sports in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

“Absolutely delighted that baseball-softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash will feature in Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. This is great news for sportspersons. As a cricket-loving nation, we specially welcome inclusion of cricket, reflecting the rising global popularity of this wonderful sport,” Modi said.

Cricket, to be played in the Twenty20 format, makes an Olympics return after appearing only once before at the Paris Games in 1900.

LA 2028 plans a six-team Twenty20 event for both men and women.

Lacrosse, created by the Indigenous Peoples of North America, is included in the LA28 with the sixes format, a speedy and compact version. This would be its third appearance at the Olympic Games, after St Louis 1904 and London 1908.

Flag football, growing fast in the US and internationally, is a non-contact version of American football for teams of five.

And, indoor racket sport squash which is also making its debut along with Flag football is already included in eight other multi-sport events.

This selection of sports is the result of a thorough process and analysis based on evaluation criteria set out before the process began, including gender equality, IOC said in its statement earlier.