Last Updated: January 20, 2023, 21:08 IST
The game of cricket has officially failed to make it to the Olympics 2028, scheduled to be held in Los Angeles, USA. The International Olympics Committee (IOC) has conveyed the same to the International Council and now, the global cricketing body has to make a fresh pitch for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics.
It has been learned that the ICC is now putting a new Olympics committee in place and BCCI secretary Jay Shah, who also represents the Indian cricket board at the ICC, will chair it going forward.
Cricket has only featured once at the 1900 Paris Olympic Games, with Great Britain and hosts France as only participants. Last year in August, the IOC had shortlisted cricket for a review along with eight other sporting disciplines. The other eight sports in consideration for the showpiece event are baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse, break dancing, karate, kickboxing, squash, and motorsport.
In February 2022, the IOC said that a total of 28 sporting events will be part of the Los Angeles Games and also added that the ‘potential new sports’ will be considered with a focus on youth.
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As per IOC diktat, a sport should clear some set of criteria in order to be considered for inclusion.
That included priorities to cost and complexity reduction, engaging the best athletes and sports with safety and health first, global appeal, host country interest, gender equality, youth relevance, upholding integrity and fairness to support clean sports, and long-term sustainability.
Cricket was being featured in the Commonwealth Games 2022 with the women’s T20 format being played among eight nations. However, for a sporting event to be featured at the Olympic Games, it must be for both men and women.
(With PTI Inputs)
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