New Delhi: Cricket will witness six teams battling for top honours when the sport returns to the Olympics at the 2028 Los Angeles Games after a gap of 128 years.
This was confirmed by the organisers Wednesday.
Cricket last featured at the Olympics in the 1900 edition of the Games in Paris, where a one-off, two-day match between Great Britain and France was held, which is now recognised as an unofficial Test.
At LA 2028, cricket will be played in the T20 format, with six teams competing in both the men’s and women’s competitions.
Every team will be able to name a 15-member squad as a total of 90 athlete quotas have been allocated for each gender.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) consists of 12 full members: Afghanistan, Australia, Bangladesh, England, India, Ireland, New Zealand, Pakistan, South Africa, Sri Lanka, the West Indies and Zimbabwe.
Another 94 countries form the associate members group.
Qualification criteria for the 2028 Games are yet to be confirmed for the cricket tournament, but USA are likely to earn a direct spot at the quadrennial extravaganza as host nation, meaning only five teams will be allowed to make the cut through the qualification process.
Cricket is one of five new sports which will feature at the next Olympic Games. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) approved cricket’s inclusion for LA28 in 2023, along with baseball, softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash.
PTI
