On Monday, the International Olympic Committee added cricket and five other sporting events to the programme for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. With it, the sport is set to make a comeback in the Games for the first time since 1900, the only other occasion when it featured, even though only two teams—an English one that happened to be visiting France where the Games were held and a French team comprising mostly English expats—were in the fray.Â
This time, the sport returns in the T20 format, and should see real competition, given its vastly grown popularity. Its fast-paced action should make for exciting viewership and encourage more countries to take it up professionally.Â
Given cricket’s huge following in the Asian subcontinent, it may also be fair to expect broadcast revenue from India to shoot up—a staggering ten-fold, by one estimate. That should improve the cost-benefit equation of the Games and help hosting nations, considering all Olympic editions since 1960 have exceeded budgets. As for India, its record medal tally at the Asian Games has raised its sporting profile. Cricket in Olympics bolsters hope of one more sporting medal.
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Updated: 16 Oct 2023, 09:42 PM IST
