Cricket prepares for Olympic return in Los Angeles 2028

After Tom Cruise pulled off his latest daredevil stunt – proving once again why the ageless, indestructible movie star is the equivalent of LeBron James in his field – the Olympic baton was passed from Paris to Los Angeles.

The Olympic fever from the incredible, era-defining Games in Paris continues to linger in the air as attention turns to LA 2028, where cricket will make its long-awaited return to the world’s biggest sporting event.

Cricket, a sport played by the British Commonwealth with bat and ball, is according to some statistics the second most popular sport in the world. The tournament will return after the first edition in 1900, when only Great Britain and host country France took part.

There was a long-winded push from some executives, with discussions between cricket power brokers and the IOC dating back to the 2008 Beijing Olympics, those involved told me. At the time, the Tokyo Games were seen as a clear opportunity for cricket to be included.

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But for a time there was resistance from the most powerful countries, especially the all-powerful India, which feared losing its autonomy to the country's Olympic Committee and thus missing out on lucrative bilateral tournaments.

England was also reluctant as the Summer Olympics coincided with the home season.

But sentiment changed and a focused push for cricket by the US sports governing body meant the LA Games were circled. As I first reported in December 2020, an ICC working group was formed by then acting chairman Imran Khwaja and a well-paid marketing campaign followed.

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The immense popularity of cricket in South Asia, home to a quarter of the world's population with traditionally lukewarm interest in the Olympics, was particularly attractive to the IOC. India is seen as a frontrunner to host the 2036 Games.

When cricket was officially added to the LA Olympics last September, it was a done deal. It’s still four years away, but cricket is on the clock. There are still a few unknowns.

Cricket, played in the three-hour T20 format, is expected to feature only six teams per gender at the Olympics. This is due to a strict quota for athletes and a low number of teams, which secretly irritates many smaller cricketing nations who are unable to qualify.

A qualifying format has yet to be revealed. England would play as Great Britain, in line with the rest of the Olympics, with Scottish and English players to join forces. Caribbean nations compete in cricket under the flag of the West Indies but compete as individual islands in the Olympics.

Now that cricket is finally part of the Olympic glitterati, it will also reap benefits on a wider scale, particularly in the US, where it is strategically seeking to break through after hosting the T20 World Cup and setting up a professional T20 league.

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“The Olympics are a great opportunity to showcase the sport in this country,” Soma Somasegar, co-owner of Seattle Orcas, told me. “People from all over the world will be watching and it will showcase the sport at a high level to a broad audience.”

A home venue for the Orcas is planned at King County's Marymoor Park, about 15 miles from Seattle, and would likely seat about 6,000-8,000 fans. It is hoped to be ready for the 2026 season and possibly become a site for LA 2028.

“I hope that by then Seattle will have a stadium that is operational, because we have as much potential to host the Olympic (cricket) Games as anyone else,” Somasegar said.

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Other possible locations include Great Park in Irvine, the Oakland Coliseum, and a proposed location in San Jose.

Perhaps most importantly, the domino effect is being felt in far-flung places where cricket struggles to develop.

“You're not taken seriously in Japan unless you're an Olympic sport. For countries that don't participate, cricket is seen as a minor sport,” Alan Curr, chief operating officer of the Japan Cricket Association, told me last year.

Participation in the Olympics could potentially free up government funding for the sport in non-traditional cricketing countries, where the often baffling sport is seen as a joke.

Against the backdrop of Hollywood, cricket's Olympic dreams are about to become reality.