The International Olympic Committee (IOC) is expected to take a call on the inclusion of new sports, including cricket, ahead of the 2028 Summer Olympics at Los Angeles in October, according to reports.
It is expected that more than 100 IOC members will meet in Mumbai in October to vote for the inclusion of new sporting disciplines in the biggest sporting spectacle in the world. Led by rising batter Ruturaj Gaikwad, the Indian’s men cricket team will compete in the Asian Games for the first time since 1998. It is hoped that the participation in the Hangzhou Games of a cricketing giant like India will further add to the chorus of including the sport in the Summer Olympics. In recent times, the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) have made a strong case for the inclusion of cricket in multi-sport events. It is, perhaps, the advocation for including cricket in such events that the gentleman’s game featured in the Commonwealth Games previously and has now made its way to the Asian Games.
If the proposal for including cricket on the sport’s biggest stage gets the nod of the stakeholders, it would be of massive import for India as it would significantly raise its medal hopes. The Indian women’s team won the country its first gold in cricket at the Asian Games, beating Sri Lanka in a hard-fought final. The gold saw them go one better than the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, where they won silver. The men’s cricket team will start their campaign at the Hangzhou Games on September 27. The bronze and gold medal matches will be played on October 7.
