Cricket returns to Olympics; 6 teams to participate in 2028

Los Angeles: The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to include six men's and six women's cricket teams in the Olympics 2028 scheduled for Los Angeles.

Cricket was last included in the Olympics 1900 in Paris.

Cricket will be played in the T20 format in the Los Angeles Olympics 2028, with six teams in the men's and women's events, each with a quota of 90 players, with each team consisting of 15 players.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has 12 full members. The event program and athlete quota were approved by the IOC Executive Board, but the cricket venues for the Los Angeles Olympics have not yet been decided.

Pakistan may face difficulties in qualifying for the Olympics as the Pakistan men's team is in seventh position and the women's team is in eighth position in the current ICC rankings. The top 6 teams in the ICC rankings will qualify for the Olympics. Pakistan will have to improve its ranking to qualify for the Olympics.

11,198 athletes will participate in the Los Angeles Olympics in 2028. 31 Olympic program sports and five host venue sports will be held. A total of 351 medal events will be held in the Los Angeles Olympics, while 55 medals will be awarded in aquatics and a total of 48 medals will be awarded in athletics.

A total of 5,543 men and 5,655 women will compete in 36 sports at the Los Angeles Games, with 161 women, 165 men, and 25 mixed events among the 351 medal events.

For the first time, there will be 16 women's teams and 12 men's teams in football, while swimming has also added 50-meter backstroke, butterfly, and breaststroke events to the Olympics.

The OIC board has approved the addition of new medal events in sports climbing and rowing.

Squash, which is included under the Los Angeles Host Program, will have a draw of 16 men and women, while flag football, Lucero, softball, and cricket will have 6 teams each. Two more women's teams have been added to the water polo events.