Virat Kohli crowned BIGGER than Tom Brady, LeBron James, and Tiger Woods as cricket is all set to be included in 2028 Olympics

Cricket was last played in the 1900 Paris Olympics, where only two teams had participated.

Virat Kohli crowned BIGGER than Tom Brady, LeBron James, and Tiger Woods as cricket is all set to be included in 2028 Olympics

LeBron James, Virat Kohli and Tom Brady

The International Olympic Committee has approved the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics Local Organizing Committee’s recommendation of adding cricket. After a voting that happened in Mumbai on 14th and 15th October, there was a majority to add cricket to the multi-sport event. 

Cricket was last played in the 1900 Paris Olympic and will be making its return after 128 years. The IOC confirmed their inclusion on all of their social media handles and released a statement. Along with cricket, sports like baseball/softball, flag football, squash and lacrosse, are also included.

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Cricket will be played in a T20I format for both men and women. In the proposed plan by the LA28 organizers, 6 teams will take part in both men’s and women’s competitions. The teams will be decided according to the ICC T20I teams ranking according to a cut-off date. The qualification process could be changed by 2025. 

ICC Chairman Greg Barclay said the icing of the cake was that they selected cricket while being in India during the 2023 ICC ODI World Cup. “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. The innings has just begun, and we can’t wait to see where this incredible journey leads” said Barclay. 

Related: “Gold medal in Olympic will be more prestigious than world cups”- Fans on cloud nine as cricket will be included in Olympics after 128 years as per reports

When it was confirmed that cricket was in contention for the LA28 Olympics, the IOC President, Thomas Bach, said the inclusion of cricket would help both cricket and the Olympics. Thanks to the popularity of cricket in the South-Asian subcontinent, Bach claimed the inclusion of cricket is a win-win situation. 

Virat Kohli in front of the Ahmedabad crowd (Image via ESPN)

LA Olympic Organising Committee Director, Niccolo Camprianni, also agreed with this statement. He noted the popularity of cricket and also spoke about Indian superstar, Virat Kohli. Camprianni, a three-time Olympic Gold Medal winner, said, “Think my friend here Virat. He’s the third-most followed athlete in the world on social media with 314 million followers. That’s more than LeBron James, Tom Brady and Tiger Woods combined. This is the ultimate win-win for LA 28.”

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