The International Cricket Council (ICC) has confirmed its bid for the LA Olympic berth and has taken the first step to incorporate the game in the Olympics. Till now, cricket was only played in Olympics in 1900, Great Britain bagged Gold Medal.
On Monday, the Board of Control of Cricket in India (BCCI) secretary Jay Shah confirmed that India would take part in LA Olympics 2028 Games if the game is included. Earlier, the Indian board did not want to take part in the Olympic Games but Jay Shah has changed many things.
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ICC has ordered the formation of a Working Group, which would lead the bid on the behalf of the sport. The ICC Working Group would be headed by England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) head Ian Watmore. He would be accompanied by ICC Independent Director Indra Nooyi, chief of Zimbabwe Cricket Tavengwa Mukuhlani, ICC Associate Member Director and Vice President of the Asian Cricket Council Mahinda Vallipuram and chair of USA Cricket Paraag Marathe.
ICC shared the information on Twitter and wrote, “ICC can confirm its intention to push for cricket's inclusion in the @Olympics, with the 2028 Games in Los Angeles being the primary target.”
ICC Chairman Greg Barclay said, “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. 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.”
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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 tantalizing.
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.”
He further said, “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.
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.”