Cricket could soon begin a new innings of its own. It is among nine sports vying for a spot at the 2028 Olympics and is emerging as a front runner as the International Olympic Committee looks to tap into its die-hard fan base, The Indian Express has learnt.
The decision will be made on October 15-16, just after the World Cup marquee clash between India and Pakistan, when more than 100 IOC members vote in Mumbai to include new sports in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The likelihood will be clear this week itself as the IOC’s all-powerful Executive Board is due to meet in Lausanne, Switzerland on September 8. The Board, which includes IOC president Thomas Bach, will take a call on the sports programme for the LA Olympics and it will then be ratified during the IOC session in Mumbai.
The other sports fighting for a place in the Olympics are flag football, karate, kickboxing, baseball-softball, lacrosse, breakdancing, squash and motorsport.
But Michael Payne, a former marketing and broadcast rights director of the IOC who is familiar with its inner workings after working there for nearly two decades, believes that cricket remains a favourite to get the nod.
Payne cited the “current cricket boom” in the US, where some of the biggest tech firms have invested in the Major League. Adding to cricket’s advantage, Payne said, is that the 2032 Olympics will be held in Australia, where cricket is a major sport.
“In 2032, the Games are in Brisbane, Australia… there will be a local interest in cricket… And also from a business perspective, cricket is booming in America.
The Los Angeles (organising) committee is headed by a gentleman called Casey Wasserman, who is a very astute business leader and owns one of the world’s largest sports media groups. He could see the potential in cricket,” he said.
And then, Payne added, there’s the IOC’s larger interest in wooing the cricket-loving Indian and South Asian fan base, besides tapping into the subcontinent’s vast market.