Cricket's bold Olympic ambition confirmed

3 years ago 346

The International Cricket Council has confirmed its volition to person the athletics included successful the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games and beyond.

Following years of speculation that cricket wanted to instrumentality to the Olympics for the archetypal clip since the 1900 Games successful Paris, the ICC has announced the enactment of a moving radical that's acceptable to bid for the sport's inclusion.

"Our athletics is agreed down this bid, and we spot the Olympics arsenic a portion of cricket's semipermanent future," ICC president Greg Barclay said successful a statement.

"We person much than a cardinal fans globally and astir 90 per cent of them privation to spot cricket astatine the Olympics.

"Clearly cricket has a beardown and passionate fanbase, peculiarly successful South Asia wherever 92 per cent of our fans travel from, whilst determination are besides 30 cardinal cricket fans successful the USA. The accidental for those fans to spot their heroes competing for an Olympic medal is tantalising.

"We judge cricket would beryllium a large summation to the Olympic Games, but we cognize it won't beryllium casual to unafraid our inclusion arsenic determination are truthful galore different large sports retired determination wanting to bash the same. But we consciousness present is the clip to enactment our champion ft guardant and amusement what a large concern cricket and the Olympics could be."

India skipper Virat Kohli successful the tract during the 2019 ODI World Cup. (Getty)

Cricket volition marque a instrumentality to the Commonwealth Games successful Birmingham successful 2022, astatine which a women's T20 tourney volition beryllium played.

The ICC's connection connected its volition for Olympic inclusion did not uncover which format of the crippled it wanted to introduce.

Officials had antecedently toyed with the thought of indoor oregon formation cricket, but the T20 format present shapes arsenic the astir apt option.

Included successful the ICC's moving radical is the president of USA Cricket, Paraag Marathe, who says involvement successful cricket successful America and globally volition guarantee it thrives connected location ungraded if accepted by the International Olympic Committee.

"With truthful galore passionate cricket fans and players already successful the USA, and a immense planetary assemblage and pursuing for the athletics astir the world, we judge that cricket's inclusion volition adhd large worth to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and assistance america to execute our ain imaginativeness for establishing cricket arsenic a mainstream athletics successful this country," Marathe said.

The West Indies spell berserk aft beating England successful the men's 2016 T20 World Cup final. (Getty)

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