Reigning world champion India, Britain, South Africa and host United States are set to feature in the men’s Twenty20 competition when cricket returns to the Olympics at the 2028 Los Angeles Games, following a qualification pathway approved by the International Olympic Committee.

One team each from Asia, Europe, Africa and Oceania will be picked based on the International Cricket Council rankings at a cut-off date of December 31, 2026, according to a decision approved by the IOC executive board.

Australia and New Zealand will vie for the one spot from Oceania, while the United States will represent the Americas provided it does not slip out of the top 15 in the ICC rankings. The sixth team will come through a global qualifier featuring the next eight highest-ranked teams that have not already qualified.

The West Indies, a composite ICC member representing multiple Caribbean nations, is not recognised as a National Olympic Committee by the IOC. If West Indies is ranked among the eight highest-ranked teams not yet qualified, the ICC will organise a West Indies Nations Regional Tournament to determine which National Olympic Committee will represent the region in the final global Olympic qualification tournament.

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The Caribbean winner will then join seven other teams in a global qualifier, with the winner completing the six-team men’s competition. England’s ranking has been used to select Britain.

The women’s competition will also feature six teams. Australia, Britain, South Africa and India have secured spots by virtue of being the four best-performing continental teams in the ongoing World Cup.

Neither the United States nor any team from the Americas features in the ICC’s top 15. After the Champions Trophy next year, the unused host-country place will be awarded to the highest-ranked T20 team outside the four already qualified.

As in the men’s pathway, the Caribbean winner will enter an eight-team global qualifier, with the winner claiming the final spot for Los Angeles 2028.

Published on Jun 29, 2026