The 2028 Olympic Games will be held in Los Angeles, USA. After a gap of 128 years, cricket will return to the Olympic stage through this event. The men’s cricket tournament, set to be played in the T20 format, will feature six teams.
Among them, the participation of five teams is nearly confirmed. The cricket event at the Los Angeles Olympics will begin on July 12, with the medal-deciding matches scheduled for July 20 and 29.
British media outlet The Guardian published a report yesterday stating that one team from each continent will participate in the Los Angeles Olympics cricket tournament. Among them, five teams — including the host nation, the USA — have already received the green light to participate in this comeback event.
India will represent the Asian region, and Australia will represent the Oceania region. This decision has drawn dissatisfaction from two strong teams of the same regions: Pakistan and New Zealand.
Additionally, Great Britain will represent the European region, and South Africa will represent the African region. Great Britain is preparing a team under the “GB” format, in which the England and Wales Cricket Board will jointly participate in the Olympics. Discussions are ongoing with Scotland’s cricket board to include them in the squad. There’s also speculation that two-time T20 World Cup champion West Indies will participate from the Caribbean region.
Without any qualifying tournament, teams like Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka, and Bangladesh are being left out of the Los Angeles Olympics.
Although the International Cricket Council (ICC) has not yet officially confirmed which countries will play in the 2028 Olympics, The Guardian reports that the proposal to organize the tournament based on a continental format was approved during the ICC’s annual meeting held this month in Singapore. This decision by the ICC has led to dissatisfaction from Pakistan in Asia and New Zealand in Oceania.
On the other hand, a six-team women’s cricket tournament will also take place at the Los Angeles Olympics. The countries participating in the 2028 women’s cricket event will be finalized based on the upcoming T20 World Cup, scheduled for next year.
