Kolkata: BCCI president Sourav Ganguly has confirmed that cricket will be included at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, months after the Indian board agreed to send its men’s and women’s teams to the Californian city.
“Yes, cricket will be there at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics,” Ganguly told News18 Bangla, before leaving for the UAE to discuss with the organsiers about the T20 World Cup and the remainder of the 2021 Indian Premier League. The inclusion of cricket will also increase India’s medal chances at the Olympics.
The ICC has formed a committee in December last year to make its way into Olympics, possibly in 2028. The game has spread all over the world in the last five years with the apex body granting T20I status to all its 104 member nations.
However, BCCI will send its teams to the 2028 Olympics provided there is no interference from the Indian Olympic Association (IOA). The last time Indian cricket made its appearance in any major multi-sport event was at the 1998 Commonwealth Games. The Indian women’s team will be competing at the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games.
The former India skipper also wished three athletes from West Bengal who will be going to the Tokyo Olympics and stated more will emerge from the state in the coming days. So far, 119 athletes will be representing India at the Tokyo Olympics with more names to come from tennis.
“All the best to them (Sutirtha Mukherjee, Pranati Nayak, Atanu Das). Bengal has always been the powerhouse for cricket and football, and most recently a Bengal origin boy (Samir Banerjee) won the Wimbledon junior singles title. We all want Bengal sports to go a long way and more successful athletes from the state,” Ganguly added.
Asked about India’s medal chances at the Tokyo Olympics, Ganguly put his bet on shooting and wrestling. “India has bright chances in shooting and wrestling. My personal favourite are the sprint events but I also do catch up on other events at the Olympics whenever I get time,” he concluded.
Cricket has been a part of the Summer Olympics previously with the only appearance coming in 1990. Great Britain defeated France by 158 runs in the only match played.
