Cricket, folks! Back in the Olympics after, what, 128 years? I mean, who even remembers it being there before? Yep, the International Olympic Committee is bringing it back for LA 2028. Weirdly exciting and kinda nostalgic, right? And they’ll be playing the T20 format—just six teams each for the guys and gals. Seems like not a lot, but hey, it’s a start.
Got this info from, let me see…oh right, the official Olympics website. They’re sticking to small squads, 15 per team. So, quick math…180 cricketers at the Games. That’s the entire cricket population of my high school (well, if anyone in my high school actually played cricket). But yeah, no set schedule yet—guess we gotta wait on that one.
Now, if you’re like me and love to drown in cricket stories, the Cricket Paper’s got you covered. Apparently, they’re dishing out exclusive stuff from 14p a day. Sometimes I wonder, do they make money or just happy readers?
Anyhow, back to the whole six-team drama—it’s got the cricket folks scratching their heads, for sure. Seems like a huge step for cricket, yet kinda… limiting? The International Cricket Council has what, 12 Full Member and 94 Associate folks? So, this six-teams thing could get intense. Who gets in? Nobody really knows with the whole qualification process up in the air. Will the USA just waltz in because they’re hosting? Possibly.
It gets me thinking—other events have more teams, even the Asian Games had 14 and 9 men’s and women’s teams respectively. And LA28 football will have 12 per side. So, cricket’s deal seems like a bit of an outlier. Inclusivity, you know?
Oh, and speaking of history, cricket was last seen at the Olympics in 1900. That’s a long hibernation! It’s kind of wild—it was just Great Britain and France back then. How times change. I mean, nowadays, the IOC is diving into globally popular sports, and here we are with five new ones, including cricket. Makes you wonder what the other four are—oh right, baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse, squash… the usual suspects, I guess.
Where’s this cricket shindig happening? No official word yet, but Oakland Coliseum might just be up. Maybe it’s the South Asian community around there? Or just because it’s got the space.
Anyway, Jay Shah’s been busy—really pushing the ICC’s agenda to keep cricket in the Olympics. He even went to Brisbane to talk about, I don’t know, 2032 Olympics maybe? Ambitious or what. Seems like the ICC wants cricket to stick around and not just be a one-hit-wonder. They’re banking on the T20 version to appeal more—faster, more entertaining, I guess.
So, where do we go from here? They’ve got to figure out the qualifying rounds, venues, all that jazz. It’s a lot to chew over. But hey, fans are thrilled cricket’s getting an Olympic encore. Let’s just hope it paves the way for more than just the cricket elite—gotta think big picture, right? What a ride it’ll be!
