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ICC Chairman Jay Shah made a further push for cricket in the LA 2028 Olympics with his meeting with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) President.
Jay Shah and Thomas Bach.
With cricket set to make its debut in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, International Cricket Council (ICC) Chairman Jay Shah met the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach to give the move a further push.
Jay Shah has recently taken over as ICC Chairman while Bach is in the final stretch of his tenure as IOC President before the elections later this year.
But their meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, will take forward the current cooperation between the two organizations till LA28 and beyond.
“Momentum continues to build around cricket’s inclusion as an @olympics sport at the @la28games and beyond, with @jayshah220988 meeting International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach in Lausanne, Switzerland this week,” the ICC said in a story on its Instagram page.
Cricket was included in the LA28 sports program during the 141st IOC Session in Mumbai along with Flag Football, Lacrosse, Squash, and Baseball/Softball.
Cricket is already part of two of the other multi-sport extravaganzas, the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. It was hosted in T20 format for women in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, which was organized in 2023, for both men and women.
Being part of the Olympic Games will take it forward. Though the final format of how cricket will be conducted in the Los Angeles Olympics is yet to be finalized, it is likely to be in T20 format.
“We were delighted to meet with Thomas Bach and IOC officials, it was a productive meeting and an important milestone on the road to LA 2028. The inclusion of cricket in the Olympic Games represents a watershed moment for our sport and a real opportunity for transformative growth for 2028 and beyond,” Shah said in an ICC statement.
“We discussed a range of critical issues and continued to build relationships with our friends across the Olympic movement. We look forward to the next three and half years working in collaboration with the IOC and LA 2028.”
The world body said it was an ‘exciting time’ for the sport cricket because the Olympics will bring a ‘tremendous opportunity’ to engage with existing and new fans ahead of the LA 2028 Games.
(This story has not been edited by News18 staff and is published from a syndicated news agency feed – IANS)
