ICC banking on T20 for cricket’s inclusion in Olympics | Cricket News – Times of India

NEW DELHI: International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief Executive Geoff Allardice on Friday said that the ICC is actively pursuing the inclusion of T20 cricket in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The governing body is working towards cricket’s participation in the prestigious event, and a decision on its inclusion will be made in the coming months.
The ICC’s efforts reflect the growing interest in expanding the reach of cricket and showcasing the T20 format on a global stage.
If successful, cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Olympics would mark a significant milestone for the sport, providing a unique platform to engage new audiences and promote its growth worldwide.
“The Olympics want to stage a format that has its World Championship. Given that, we will be proposing the shortest format for Olympic inclusion — that would be T20 cricket,” said the ICC CEO in a media round table on the sidelines of the Board meeting in Durban.
The highly anticipated Major League Cricket (MLC) officially launched in the United States on Thursday, featuring six franchises that include four owners from the Indian Premier League (IPL).
The Los Angeles franchise is owned by the Kolkata Knight Riders, the New York franchise by the Mumbai Indians, the Seattle Orcas by the Delhi Capitals, and the Texas franchise by the Chennai Super Kings.
The involvement of these IPL franchises brings a strong connection to the established cricketing world and adds to the excitement surrounding the MLC. The participation of renowned owners from the IPL is expected to bring considerable attention and interest to the league.
Allardice expressed his belief that the launch of MLC would generate significant attention and raise the profile of cricket in the United States.
The establishment of MLC offers a promising opportunity for the growth and development of cricket in a country primarily known for its passion for other sports.

“There are a number of developments in the USA that are helping to raise the awareness of the game. Start of the MLC is one of them, they draw a lot of attention to the sport.”
He further said that the Men’s T20 World Cup 2024 will be co-hosted by USA Cricket and Cricket West Indies, contrary to speculations that it would move to the UK.
“I can say with finality that the 2024 men’s T20 World Cup will be played in the West Indies and USA.
“The men’s T20 World Cup next year will continue to raise awareness of sport. We are talking to the LA Olympics people for the last 18 months to two years, raising with them the awareness of cricket.
“We are expecting a decision in the next couple of months. Yes, all promotion of cricket in the USA contributes to raising that awareness,” he said.
The last few years have seen the introduction of new formats, including the T10 and the Hundred, but they will not be included as international formats anytime soon.
“At the moment three international formats of the game are helping us and members to best promote the sport. There is no discouragement for T10 for domestic leagues or local tournaments.
“As a format, each member can use whichever format of the games they want to promote the game. The T10 has not been raised by any member for ICC to consider it as an International format,” Allardice said.
To a question whether the proliferation of franchise leagues would affect the health of international cricket, he replied in the negative.
“You look at the impact of franchise sports. It is helping to promote our sport in a number of territories.
“It’s bringing a lot of content to venues, broadcasters, fans and it’s able to reach a much broader range of people than just international cricket. So the emergence of franchise leagues is one way to promote our sport.
“There has been an increase in activity in that area and one of those discussions is to bring a balance in the calendar, what the international cricket should look like.
“The staging of a domestic league with the top players of that country is a very good way to promote cricket. We have made strides in a number of territories. It is changing the dynamics of the game and a lot of that has been positive,” he added.
(With PTI inputs)