Cricket returns to Olympics after 123 years; to be played at 2028 Los Angeles Games

Cricket Returns to Olympics: Cricket will make return to the Olympic Games after a gap of 123 years as the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Session gave it the go-ahead for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

The executive board of the IOC had already recommended cricket for the world's biggest sporting extravaganza and cricket's inclusion required the Session's accord.

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…

— IOC MEDIA (@iocmedia) October 16, 2023

The Session gave cricket its green signal on Friday to be included in the 2028 Olympics.   

As many as six teams (with US being one of them for hosting Games) will participate in the 2028 Olympics. The format of the matches will be T20.

What IOC president Thomas Bach said

IOC president Thomas Bach said after cricket's inclusion in 2028 Olympics. “The Olympic Games will give cricket a global stage and the opportunity to grow besides the traditional cricket countries and regions. For the Olympic movement, it’s an opportunity to engage with new athletes and fan communities,” said Bach. He said that IOC is yet to sign a broadcast deal for India for the LA 2028 Games.

"Not just in India but across the world, we see growing popularity of cricket and, in particular, the T20 format. Now the World Cup is a huge success already so we are looking forward to welcoming the world’s best players in cricket to perform in the US in 2028,” he said.

The IOC chief said that the proposal to include cricket in Olympics was first discussed with LA Olympics organising committee chairman Casey Wasserman during the 2022 World Athletics Championship in Eugene, US.

When was cricket last played at Olympics

Cricket fans had been eagerly waiting for cricket to be included in the Olympics for over a century, but it's very interesting that the sport could have been part of the very first modern Olympics in Athens in 1896.

But the game couldn't be included due to insufficient team entries.

The sport was finally introduced to the Olympics in its second edition in Paris, but only England and host France would participate.

Most of the players in the French team were English expatriots.

England won the game and the gold medal.

The sport was also to be included in the 1904 St. Louis Olympics, but the IOC decided against it.

The 1908 Olympics were played in London, and the city went on to organise two more such events in 1948 and 2012, but cricket would never make a comeback at the biggest sporting event in the world. 

The Board of Control for Cricket in India and the England and Wales Cricket Board had long been opposing for cricket to become part of the Olympics, but International Cricket Council chief Dave Richardson strengthened his efforts for cricket's inclusion.

The fateful day came on Monday.