New Delhi: The ICC has confirmed its intention to push for cricket’s inclusion in the Olympic Games going forward, starting preparations for a bid on behalf of the sport with the primary target being its addition to the Los Angeles 2028 itinerary.
Thirty-million cricket fans live in the USA, making LA 2028 the ideal Games for cricket to make its return to the Olympic competition. Cricket, till now, has made just one appearance in the Olympics, way back in 1900 in Paris when only two teams competed at the event – Great Britain and hosts France – meaning the sport’s inclusion in 2028 would mark the end of a 128-year absence, it said in a statement.
“The sport will feature in the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games next year, which shapes as a perfect showcase for what the sport can bring to the Olympics, as well as being a momentous occasion on its own,” the statement read.
ICC Chair Greg Barclay said the addition of cricket to the Olympic Games would be beneficial to both the sport and the Games themselves.
“Firstly on behalf of everyone at the ICC, I would like to congratulate the IOC, Tokyo 2020, and the people of Japan for staging such an incredible Games in such difficult circumstances. It truly was fantastic to watch and captured the imagination of the world and we would love for cricket to be a part of future Games,” Barclay said.
“Our sport is united behind this bid, and we see the Olympics as a part of cricket’s long-term future. We have more than a billion fans globally and almost 90 percent of them want to see cricket at the Olympics.
Barclay added: “Clearly cricket has a strong and passionate fanbase, particularly in South Asia where 92% of our fans come from whilst there are also 30 million cricket fans in the USA. The opportunity for those fans to see their heroes competing for an Olympic medal is tantalising.”
“We believe cricket would be a great addition to the Olympic Games, but we know it won’t be easy to secure our inclusion as there are so many other great sports out there wanting to do the same. But we feel now is the time to put our best foot forward and show what a great partnership cricket and the Olympics are.”
The ICC Olympic Working Group will be chaired by England and Wales Cricket Board Chair Ian Watmore. He will be joined by ICC Independent Director Indra Nooyi, Chair of Zimbabwe Cricket Tavengwa Mukuhlani, ICC Associate Member Director and Vice President of the Asian Cricket Council Mahinda Vallipuram and Chair of USA Cricket Parag Marathe.
Marathe believes the time is now for cricket to make its long-awaited return to the Olympics, confident the sport’s inclusion at the showpiece event would accelerate the growth of the game in the USA.
“USA Cricket is thrilled to be able to support cricket’s bid for inclusion in the Olympics, the timing of which aligns perfectly with our continuing plans to develop the sport in the USA,” he said.
“With so many passionate cricket fans and players already in the USA, and a huge global audience and following for the sport around the world, we believe that cricket’s inclusion will add great value to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and help us to achieve our own vision for establishing cricket as a mainstream sport in this country.”

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MUMBAI (Reuters) – Pakistan did all they could to get their World Twenty20 match against India moved to Kolkata, even threatening to withdraw, but poor selection and the hosts’ all-round superiority left them wishing they had not bothered to turn up at all.

The most anticipated match of the tournament between the neighbours was shifted to Eden Gardens at the last moment over security concerns at the original venue at Dharamsala.

Pakistan repeatedly emphasised India’s morale-sapping loss in the opener against New Zealand was an advantage for them and they were even more confident of breaking their jinx of losing every World Cup match between the bitter rivals.

Their decision to play four fast bowlers against India reflected an approach more suited to the 1980s West Indies side and dropping spinner Imad Wasim at the expense of a paceman underlined their failure to read the surface.

Asked to bat in the rain-shortened Group Two match, the 2009 champions were largely subdued once off-spinner Ravichandran Ashwin got the new ball to turn viciously.

Doubts seemed to creep into Pakistan’s minds regarding what would be a decent target to set India, who folded for 79 against the Kiwis on a turning track while chasing 127 in their opener, and the innings never gained momentum until the death overs.

MEAGRE TOTAL

“There are few areas we need to improve, specially our batting,” said Shoaib Malik, who top-scored with a 26 for Pakistan. “Even though it was a tough pitch to bat on, I believe we could have set a higher target.”

In the end, Pakistan could only manage a meagre 118 for five in their 18 overs, nowhere near enough without the bowling depth New Zealand could draw upon in Nagpur when their spinners picked up nine of 10 wickets to stun India.

India did suffer a minor wobble though, slumping to 23-3 after Mohammad Sami dismissed Shikhar Dhawan and Suresh Raina in consecutive deliveries in the fifth over to silence the 60,000 crowd at Eden Gardens as well as the millions watching on TV.

However, India’s batting mainstay Virat Kohli hit a prudent 55 not out to calm the nerves and showed why he is considered one of the world’s best.

The right-hander, who averages almost 85 in T20s against Pakistan, was aided by the fact that he did not have to face too many deliveries from Mohammad Amir, whose opening spell of 1-3 ran shivers down India’s spines.

The left-arm paceman was not brought back on by Shahid Afridi until India were nearing victory and the leg-spinning skipper, who lacks the guile to turn the ball effectively, was unable to stem the flow of runs himself.

As the pressure lifted, India were easily able to maintain their utter dominance of Pakistan in World Cup events, adding a fifth World Twenty20 victory to the six triumphs in the 50-over format.

 (Editing by John O’Brien)

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