‘We do not want to see it as a one-off’

A general view of the World Cup tie between India and Pakistan at Ahmedabad on Saturday. Pic/Getty Images

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is looking to become a permanent member of the Olympic Movement following the inclusion of T20 cricket in the programme of the 2028 Olympics, its chairman Greg Barclay said on Monday.

Cricket (men's and women's T20), along with four other sports of baseball/softball, lacrosse (sixes), squash and flag football, was on Monday officially added to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics on the second day of the 141st IOC (International Olympic Committee session in Mumbai.

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Barclay said cricket's inclusion in the 2028 LA Olympics programme will only be a start, hoping that the sport will remain a part of the future Games.

Hard work pays off

"It has been a long journey with a lot of hard work on the part of a number of people. It is a vindication of everything that they saw in their vision to get where we got today," a visibly delighted Barclay told the media. "It is the fastest growing format, already a dominant format which will be played at the Olympics," he said.

Greg Barclay

The ICC is one of the international federations recognised by the IOC, having gained full Olympic recognition in 2009. It is a member of the Association of IOC Recognised International Sports Federations.
Barclay said that the ICC is looking to utilise the inclusion of cricket at the Olympics to reach the ‘under-represented regions and countries'.

"That was also a part of our motivation, to use the world's biggest sporting stage to help further grow our sport. We are one of the fastest growing team sports in the world but we are under-represented in certain regions and countries, and this is an opportunity to address that," he said.

The ICC chairman hoped that cricket will remain a part of the Olympic programme beyond 2028, given that Brisbane is the next venue in 2032 and India is planning to make a bid for hosting the 2036 edition.

Long-term plan

"We do not want to see it as a one-off, we are looking to be a permanent member of the Olympic movement," he said. Talking about the long process of getting cricket included in the Olympics, Barclay said, "We worked through to satisfy the LA [organising committee] and the IOC to admit cricket into the Olympics. Obviously, they have accepted our considerations and our position and here we are today, which is great.

IOC puts boxing ‘on hold' for 2028 Games

Boxing faces an uncertain long-term future as an Olympic sport after its place at the 2028 Los Angeles Games was confirmed as being on hold on Monday by the International Olympic Committee. Boxing has been part of every Olympics since 1920 and will feature at next year's Paris Games.

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