The Olympic Games are going to return to cricket. It was approved by the International Olympic Association in 2023. The game was part of the Olympics in Paris in 1900. It has not been included since then. During that time, only two teams, France and Great Britain participated in the game. It was only a match between the men’s teams and the Great Britain won the gold medal.
After the 2024 Olympics in Paris, there was a discussion about making cricket a part in the next games in Los Angeles. The International Cricket Council i.e. ICC and International Olympic Association made necessary efforts to make cricket a part of the next Olympic Games.
6-6 teams of both men and women
The IOA has now confirmed that 6-6 teams will participate in cricket during the LA 2028 Olympics. This means that both men and women will compete between 6-6 teams in the tournament. These matches will be played in T20 International format.
Especially the LA 2028 Olympics will only participate in the Olympics, so qualification is expected between the countries playing top cricket. Unlike regular ICC tournaments, there will be gold, silver and bronze medals for the top three teams, so only 3 out of 6 teams will get medals.
However, the qualification process is not yet decided, but T20 cricket giants like India, Australia, New Zealand, England, South Africa will be focused in the men’s category. Similarly, women teams will also have to face strict competition to qualify. Teams like England Women, Australia Women, India Women, West Indies Women, New Zealand Women, Pakistan Women and Sri Lanka Mahila will be eager to make it to Olympics 2028.