Cricket has been reported to be one of those sports which are on the shortlist of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) to be included in the next Olympic games, which will take place in Los Angeles, the United States in 2028.
After the last Olympic games, there were demands from some sections of the cricket fans that cricket, with a huge fanbase in the Indian subcontinent, should also put forward its request for the sport to feature in the Olympic games and some of the high authorities from International Cricket Council (ICC) had supported the idea as well.
But, it remained a question mark at that time if IOC would agree to consider ICC’s presentation, because of the lack of global presence of cricket as an international sport. While cricket has a huge fanbase, the majority of the fanbase is concentrated in a few countries of the subcontinent.
Many cricket fans are opposed to cricket’s inclusion in the Olympic games
While some cricket fans want cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics, many are against the idea as well, because cricket’s schedule is already very, very hectic for international players and it will only get more hectic in the future with a lot of leagues coming up and one ICC tournament being scheduled every year.
Many cricket fans are of the opinion that when the ICC has decided to have a global tournament every year anyway, what’s the point of getting cricket included in the Olympics? But, ICC has pushed for cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics with the intention of exposing the sport to a bigger global audience.
If cricket does get a nod for inclusion in the Olympics, it remains to be seen if the national cricket boards send their first-string teams or squads of junior players are sent for the event. The football squads that the countries send for the Olympics mostly involve junior footballers and football is a bit similar to cricket, as far as the congestion of the schedule is concerned.
