Cricket, absent from the Olympics since 1900, offers the International Olympic Committee something no recent addition has: \u2060direct access to a fan base of more than two billion people and, crucially, the commercial power of the Indian market. As the Games seek a younger and broader audience, it may prove the most valuable sport added to the Olympic programme in decades.<\/p>\n
Cricket has been one of the major global sports not to feature in the Olympics, IOC Sports Director Pierre \u200cDucrey told Reuters.<\/i><\/p>\n
\u201cIt is very strong in markets where maybe you could say the Olympic Games today may not have penetrated as much as they have in other markets,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCricket will bring to the LA 2028 Games audiences that may not necessarily tune in \u200cregularly to watch the Olympic Games,\u201d Ducrey added. \u201cIt\u2019s a win-win compromise where we\u2019ll give them more opportunities, and they will definitely strengthen our appeal in \u200cmarkets \u2060that are very strongly interested in cricket and sometimes mostly in cricket.\u201d<\/p>\n
INTEREST IN BROADCASTING RIGHTS<\/h4>\n
The sport\u2019s imminent return to the Olympics has \u2060already generated demand, with the IOC confirming \u201cstrong interest\u201d in broadcasting rights for the Indian subcontinent for the 2028 Games.<\/p>\n
That would amount to \u201ca multiple\u201d of the value of the 2024 Games contract, IOC Television and Marketing Services Managing Director Anne-Sophie Voumard told Indian media late last year. The Paris 2024 contract was estimated to be worth around $30 million.<\/p>\n
\u201cRegarding media rights for the LA28 Olympic Games in the Indian subcontinent, \u200bwe are currently engaged in constructive discussions with a number of \u200ckey players across the region,\u201d an IOC spokesperson told Reuters.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe can confirm that there has been strong interest from the market, reflecting both the momentum behind the LA28 Olympic Games and the addition of cricket to the sports programme.\u201d<\/p>\n
There are already close relationships between the Olympics and cricket in the region\u2019s media market. Billionaire Mukesh Ambani\u2019s Indian broadcaster JioStar, formed from the Reliance Industries and Walt Disney merger of their Indian media assets in 2024, owned the rights for \u200cthe Paris 2024 Games and the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, and also holds the rights to broadcast the Indian Premier League, the country\u2019s \u200btop cricket league.<\/p>\n
Ambani\u2019s wife Nita is an IOC member and hosted the 2023 IOC session in Mumbai.<\/p>\n
RISE OF T20S<\/h4>\n
Cricket returned to the Olympic conversation after the IOC recognised the International Cricket Council in 2010, but the sport\u2019s traditional five-day Tests and eight-hour one-day internationals remained \u2060impractical for the Games. The breakthrough came with the explosive rise of Twenty20, a three-hour format whose popularity coincided with IOC reforms in 2014 allowing host cities to propose additional sports, paving the way for Los Angeles to bring cricket back in 2028.<\/p>\n
Beyond its brevity, the high volatility and international reach of T20 made it tailor-made for the \u200cOlympics, said ICC Chief Executive Sanjog Gupta, who was previously the CEO of sports and live experiences at JioStar.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe jeopardy or the unpredictability that live sports benefit from is maximised in this format,\u201d Gupta told Reuters. Unlike Test matches, which are restricted to the ICC\u2019s 12 full members, T20 can claim to be cricket\u2019s true global format.<\/p>\n
\u201cAvenues of participation have been expanded significantly to really position this format as cricket\u2019s handshake with the world,\u201d Gupta said. \u201cIt\u2019s global, more accessible and representative. T20 ticks all the right boxes.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Cricket](\"https:\/\/ss-i.thgim.com\/public\/incoming\/7bnuyp\/article71272865.ece\/alternates\/FREE_1200\/image%2073.jpg\" "\\"Cricket")
<\/p>\n Cricket is expected to remain in the Games beyond 2028. The 2032 Games will be held in Brisbane, Australia \u2014 another country with a strong cricketing tradition \u2014 and India is heavily pushing Ahmedabad to host the Games in 2036.
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\n EMMANUAL YOGINI\n <\/p>\n
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Cricket is expected to remain in the Games beyond 2028. The 2032 Games will be held in Brisbane, Australia \u2014 another country with a strong cricketing tradition \u2014 and India is heavily pushing Ahmedabad to host the Games in 2036.
\n | Photo Credit:
\n EMMANUAL YOGINI\n <\/p>\n<\/div>\n
LONG PROCESS<\/h4>\n
LA28 will mark the end of a 21-year journey that started with cricket\u2019s provisional recognition by the IOC back in 2007.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe interests of some of the federations, the interests of the Olympic movement at large, sometimes converge, sometimes they don\u2019t,\u201d Ducrey said. \u201cAnd it took some time for the interests of the International Cricket \u200cCouncil, of the sport of cricket at large, and those of the Olympic movement to align in a more significant way that led to the discussions around the 2028 program.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cSo a long journey, \u200bbut I would say one that was consistently getting our movements and our sports, and our interests closer and closer.\u201d Cricket\u2019s commercial rise has been fuelled by the Indian Premier League, which has transformed the sport over the past two decades, attracting the world\u2019s leading \u2060players and becoming one of the most valuable sports competitions globally. The 10-team IPL is now valued at around $20 billion, with the 2026 season drawing 1.2 billion viewers across \u2060platforms.<\/p>\n
OLYMPIC FUTURE<\/h4>\n
Cricket is expected to remain in the Games beyond 2028. The 2032 Games will be held in Brisbane, Australia \u2014 another country with a strong cricketing tradition \u2014 and India is heavily pushing Ahmedabad to host the Games in 2036.<\/p>\n
Beyond geographic expansion, cricket offers a highly coveted demographic.<\/p>\n
According to ICC chief \u200cexecutive Gupta, nearly 50 percent of followers are under 35 and 35 percent are under 27, making cricket \u201cfuture-ready\u201d.<\/p>\n
By including cricket, the Olympic movement is poised to reap a significant \u201cdemographic dividend\u201d, said Gupta. \u201cAs the Olympic movement looks to the future of its own significance and relevance of sport in various markets, cricket can potentially play \u200ba huge role in driving that forward,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
\u201cCricket is the fastest growing large-scale team sport in the world. It\u2019s a massive opportunity for the Olympic movement to ride on.\u201d<\/p>\n
Published on Jul 27, 2026<\/p>\n<\/div>\n