Cricket returns to Olympics: What is the qualification process for T20 teams for LA28?

Cricket will be the new entrant to the vast repertoire of sports on display at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles along with baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse and squash.

Rohit Sharma, Virat Kohli

The ongoing men's ODI World Cup in India isn't the only reason for joy for the patrons of the sport as Cricket is now all set to reenter the Olympics in a matter of less than five years. Earlier today, on October 16th, the 141st International Olympic Committee Session held in Mumbai saw the country's most popular sport being welcomed to be part of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, United States of America.

Cricket will be the new entrant to the vast repertoire of sports on display along with baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse and squash. All five sports were recommended as a package by LA LOCOG which was eventually approved with a unanimous vote by the IOC, with only two members, reportedly, voting against the proposal.

What is the qualification process for LA28?

Dubbed LA28, the Los Angeles Olympic games will get underway on July 14, 2028, and will be concluded on July 30, 2028. As far as cricket is concerned, both men's and women's teams will compete separately in the T20 format for the podium medals but one gathers that there is a "qualification" process that will govern a place at the games. As reported by ESPNcricinfo, the International Cricket Council or the ICC had proposed to LA28 that six teams would be shortlisted based on their T20 rankings as of a set cut-off date.

On Friday, October 13th, IOC's sports director Kit McConnell confirmed that a final call on the qualification system would be taken in 2025. Regardless, all team sports at LA28 will be played among six qualifiers in both men's and women's categories.

"Virat Kohli, the third-most followed athlete in the world"

While the inclusion of cricket serves the greater purpose of bringing more vibrancy to the Olympic games, it must also be noted that LA28, in particular, comes as the ideal venue for the sport's induction. With the Major League Cricket already launched earlier this year in the USA and the 2024 T20 World Cup to be co-hosted by the West Indies and the United States, Los Angeles seems the fitting place for ICC's product to find its bearings in the larger context.

Speaking about this, the director of LA LOCOG, Niccolo Campriani, said, "We are thrilled to welcome the world's second-most popular sport with an estimated 2.5 billion fans worldwide," adding that the digital presence of some of cricket's marquee players like Virat Kohli also helps in keeping the games "relevant for the youth".

"Think [about] my friend here Virat. He's the third-most followed athlete in the world on social media with 314 million followers. That's more than LeBron James, Tom Brady and Tiger Woods combined. This is the ultimate win-win for LA 28," added Campriani.

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