The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has decided to include six men’s and six women’s cricket teams in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
Cricket was last featured in the Olympics in 1900 in Paris.
In the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, cricket will be played in the T20 format. Both men’s and women’s events will include six teams each, with a quota of 90 players per category. Each team will consist of 15 players.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) currently has 12 full members. The event program and athlete quota were approved by the IOC Executive Board, although the cricket venues for the Los Angeles Olympics have yet to be finalized.
Pakistan may face difficulties in qualifying for the Olympic competitions, as the current ICC rankings place the Pakistan men’s team at seventh and the women’s team at eighth. Only the top six teams in the ICC rankings will qualify for the Olympics, which means Pakistan must improve its ranking to secure a spot.
A total of 11,198 athletes will participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The Olympic program will feature 31 sports and 5 additional sports selected by the host venue, with a total of 351 medal events. Aquatics will have 55 and athletics will feature 48 medal events.
Across 36 sports at the Los Angeles Games, there will be 5,543 male and 5,655 female athletes. Out of 351 medal events, 161 will be for women, 165 for men, and 25 mixed events.
For the first time in Olympic history, football will feature 16 women’s teams and 12 men’s teams. In swimming, 50-meter events in backstroke, butterfly, and breaststroke have also been included in the Olympics.
Additionally, the IOC Board has approved the addition of new medal events in sports climbing and rowing.
Under the host program, squash will include draws of 16 male and 16 female players, while flag football, lacrosse, softball, and cricket will each have six teams. Two more women’s teams have been added to the water polo competitions.
