MUMBAI: In 1989, five Indian cricketers were banned for playing in the US. Among them were Kapil Dev, Dilip Vengsarkar and Ravi Shastri. The players took a detour against the wishes of the Indian cricket board. It’s poetic that thirty-four years later, elite-level international cricket returns to US soil in the world's grandest sporting festival — the Olympics. If in 1989, one-day cricket was grudgingly getting acceptance, this time it’s the exponential growth of T20 cricket and its global acceptance that has forced Los Angeles Olympics 2028 (LA28) to include the sport. Cricket had been an integral part of discussion ever since the Mumbai IOC Session opened six days ago. Then there was the heady mix of cricket and Bollywood too. The LA28 organising committee chairperson, Casey Wasserman, alluded to this after the vote and said the Bollywood connect will be exciting. “The Bollywood connection is exciting for us,” he said while elaborating on hosting cricket matches in a stadium that is being built by LA Knight Ridgers at Great Park in Irvine, California. “If it comes in time we can use it.” The LA28 organising committee chairperson said that cricket was on the list of sports they were excited to think about right from the beginning.
“As we went through the processes, it became quite obvious we’d be making a mistake if we didn’t include it,” he said. Watching Indian Premier League (IPL) games also led to a change in perception. He said he had been to IPL and his first game was in 2010. This helped him to understand how to organise and attract the best possible players. “I will never forget my first IPL match. It was electric. And we want to recreate that environment (in LA).” Niccolo Campriani, multiple Olympic gold medallist in the 10m air rifle, said cricket will be a game-changer.
“It's a win-win-win scenario not only for the IOC and the cricket community but also for LA28. The idea was to create a perfect combination of American sports to be showcased to the world, but also introducing global sports that are not as developed in the US market. The stars have aligned with Major League Cricket that started this year as well as the T20 World Cup coming in 2024.”
The LA28 would be eagerly looking forward to the T20 Cricket World Cup in 2024 to be co-hosted by the US and the West Indies. “We will see if we can take forward the legacy of the World Cup and play matches in stadia created for the World Cup,” he said. The US would not want to invest much in creating new infrastructure. The IOC said it would expect the International Cricket Council (ICC) to send the best players to the Games. Karl Stoss, the chair of the Olympic Programme Commission, said this will be monitored closely. The inclusion of the new disciplines would lead to an increase in the number of athletes in LA as well. In Paris, the number is expected to be 10,500 but in LA, because of the inclusion of four team sports (squash will be individual), total number of athletes will go up to 11,092. Though the IOC has said there will be six teams each in men’s and women’s sections so far, the selection process of the teams and what format it will be played is yet to be finalised. The ICC chairman Greg Barclay, who was present during the voting, said the modalities of selecting teams and other logistics will be discussed and formalised as the Games approaches. “The fact that the IOC confirmation of our selection occurred here in Mumbai, during the ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup, is truly icing on the cake," he said, adding that he hoped this would be just the beginning and cricket would be part of the Olympics in future as well. “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, acknowledging that T20 cricket will grow further and help the sport to remain part of the Olympic movement beyond LA28. Barclay said the ICC worked through to satisfy the LA organising committee and the IOC to admit cricket into the Olympics. “There were myriad issues that would be considered for any sport to be included in the Olympics, so in this case, we were working through all of them,” he said. “(I am) not privy to what exactly drove the decision making — I would like to think so. We are an inclusive sport, our ideals and values line up with the Olympic Movement.” The IOC member in India, Nita Ambani, too played her part. “Cricket is one of the most loved sports globally, and the second most watched,” she said. “It’s a dream of 1.4 billion. I have been batting to include cricket in the Olympics from the time I became a member.” IOC president acknowledged her contribution and said: "We have always been made aware of this (evolving and development of the game) by IOC member in India Nita Ambani, who has given us good advice."
ALSO READ | Don't want to see cricket's inclusion in Olympics as a one-off, says ICC chairman Greg Barclay The inclusion of squash paled in comparison to cricket. But years of pitching and consistent pursuance helped the sport to get into LA28 fixtures. Fresh after winning a record nine medals at the Asian Games, the news would give a big boost to the sport in India as well. Former president of World Squash Federation N Ramachandran felt this would help the sport grow. “Not just in terms of popularity but even government’s contribution will increase,” he said. Zena Wooldridge, the president of the WSF, was delighted and said that a lot of things have changed that helped the sport get included in the Olympic programme. “It is all the more exciting because we tried so many times and got very close. We have learned along the way. I think the sport has been on the edge of being in the Olympics, driving us to be more innovative. The length of time that has taken us to get there shows our real desire. We have been persistent."
ALSO READ | Cricket among five sports given Olympic status for 2028 Los Angeles Games, breakdance dropped She also said that a number of things changed. "There are a number of things. One of them is that we are universal in terms of our players at the top level and the growth of the professional tour. We have got 34 top-level tour events with £10 million now, going into those top-level tour events and another 750 professional tournaments across the world. That relationship between WSF, the International Federation, and the Professional Squash Associations is really important and it's gotten stronger through this bit because we've worked so closely together."
