MUMBAI: While following the presentation on the giant screen in the media centre of the IOC Session here on Monday, it seemed that the inclusion of cricket in Olympics was inevitable. The session in Mumbai, the ODI World Cup being played in India and of course, a couple of days after Prime Minister Narendra Modi pitched hosting the 2036 Olympics, the most popular sport of the country found its way into the LA28 calendar.
Stars were aligned but so were the tenets critical in the selection process. Inclusivity, gender equality and popularity were some of the ingredients that went into making cricket part of LA28. The organising committee, too, had been highlighting these aspects in its rationale for including five sports — cricket, baseball and softball, lacrosse, squash and flag football — in the 2028 Games.
As LA28 sports director Niccolo Campriani, one of the presenters at the Jio World Convention Centre, succinctly put it, cricket has 2.5 billion fans worldwide. “The commitment in cricket is real and expanding with the launch of Major Cricket League this year, which exceeded all expectations,” he said. His emphasis was on the digital presence of the sport and gave the example of Virat Kohli’s followers on the digital platform.
The IOC said there will be six teams in the men and women’s sections and the selection process of teams from different regions will be decided later. Inclusion of squash remained a side dish on Monday.