ICC hopeful of having cricket in 2028 Olympics

The International Cricket Council (ICC) was hopeful that cricket would make it to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Marylebone Cricket Club's World Cricket Committee chairman Mike Gatting commented on the matter on Monday.

Gatting also went on to say that ICC chief executive Manu Sawhney assured the MCC's Cricket Committee about the strong progress that has been made to give the game a global platform.

"We were talking with Manu Sawhney the ICC chief exec, and he was very hopeful we can get cricket into the 2028 Olympics. That's what they're working towards at the moment and that would be a huge bonus for cricket worldwide, it would be fantastic," ESPN Cricinfo quoted Gatting as saying.

Gatting also reiterated that the two-week period that the Olympics encompasses, makes it a very viable option even amidst the busy international schedules.

"It's two weeks, that's a good thing about it, it's not a month, so it's one of those events where scheduling for two weeks should be fine once every four years once you do the first one. You're going to have - one hopes - a four-year period, once you know you've been accepted into the Olympics, that gives you a chance to actually shape your two weeks, so it's not as if it is butted into the schedule," Gatting said.

Women’s T20 cricket was also included on the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth games on Tuesday.  Eight teams will compete across eight match days, as cricket returns to the Commonwealth Games for the first time since 1998, when South Africa won the gold medal in a men's 50-over format competition in Kuala Lumpur. Edgbaston, the venue of England's semi-final victory over Australia in the men's 50-over World Cup, will play host to all the matches. The 2022 Commonwealth Games will take place in England from July 27 to August 7.

"This is a truly historic moment for women's cricket and for the global cricket community, who were united in their support of this bid," said Manu Sawhney,Chief Executive of the International Cricket Council (ICC) said in a media statement.