Cricket might quickly start a brand new innings of its personal. It’s amongst 9 sports activities vying for a spot on the 2028 Olympics and is rising as a entrance runner because the Worldwide Olympic Committee seems to be to faucet into its die-hard fan base, The Indian Categorical has learnt.
The choice will likely be made on October 15-16, simply after the World Cup marquee conflict between India and Pakistan, when greater than 100 IOC members vote in Mumbai to incorporate new sports activities within the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
The chance will likely be clear this week itself because the IOC’s omnipotent Government Board is because of meet in Lausanne, Switzerland on September 8. The Board, which incorporates IOC president Thomas Bach, will take a name on the sports activities programme for the LA Olympics and it’ll then be ratified through the IOC session in Mumbai.
The opposite sports activities preventing for a spot within the Olympics are flag soccer, karate, kickboxing, baseball-softball, lacrosse, breakdancing, squash and motorsport.
However Michael Payne, a former advertising and broadcast rights director of the IOC who’s acquainted with its inside workings after working there for practically twenty years, believes that cricket stays a favorite to get the nod.
Payne cited the “present cricket growth” within the US, the place a number of the largest tech corporations have invested within the Main League. Including to cricket’s benefit, Payne mentioned, is that the 2032 Olympics will likely be held in Australia, the place cricket is a serious sport.
“In 2032, the Video games are in Brisbane, Australia… there will likely be an area curiosity in cricket… And likewise from a enterprise perspective, cricket is booming in America. The Los Angeles (organising) committee is headed by a gentleman referred to as Casey Wasserman, who’s a really astute enterprise chief and owns one of many world’s largest sports activities media teams. He might see the potential in cricket,” he mentioned.
After which, Payne added, there’s the IOC’s bigger curiosity in wooing the cricket-loving Indian and South Asian fan base, in addition to tapping into the subcontinent’s huge market.
As per reviews, Indian broadcasters Viacom 18 paid roughly $31 million to bag the rights to indicate the Olympics, together with the Paris Video games. In distinction, American community NBC paid $7.65 billion for a deal that runs from 2021 to 2032.
“In case you take a look at all of the areas world wide, the one space the place frankly the Olympic Video games just isn’t practically as sturdy as elsewhere within the subcontinent, you understand, India, Pakistan. And in the event you had been to convey cricket onto the Olympic programme, it could have a serious influence,” Payne mentioned.
India can also be bidding to host the Olympics in 2036, with the choice course of nonetheless within the nascent levels.
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Cricket was final performed on the Olympics in 1900, the place a one-off gold-medal match was performed between two groups representing Britain and France. It has remained out ever since, largely because of the IOC’s inflexible coverage on together with one sport provided that one other was dropped, and the Worldwide Cricket Council’s (ICC’s) indifference to that.
That has, of late, modified with Bach making the sports activities choice coverage versatile and the ICC lately placing wheels into movement to get cricket again to the Olympics.
The ICC has pitched the T20 format with 5 groups in every gender more likely to characteristic in LA. The stadium presently being constructed by IPL heavyweights Kolkata Knight Riders, one of many founding traders within the Main League, is anticipated to host the matches.