IOC Approves Cricket, Four Other Sports For LA 2028 Olympics 

Cricket last featured at the 1900 Paris Olympics, when a team from Britain beat a side representing France

IOC Approves Cricket, Four Other Sports For LA 2028 Olympics 

Cricket, along with baseball/softball, flag football, squash, and lacrosse, was authorized by a vote of the International Olympic Committee's session in Mumbai.

The IOC's executive board approved a proposal by the LA organizers last week to include Twenty20 cricket, the sport's shortest format, along with the four other new events.

The men's 50-over Cricket World Cup will be held in India, so the final decision must still be made at the IOC session on Monday in Mumbai, one of the world's cricket capitals.

In both men's and women's T20 cricket, the Los Angeles Chiefs have suggested a six-team event.

As the host country, the United States is slated to field teams, although no final decision has been made on the number of teams or how they will qualify.

The last time cricket was a part of an Olympic event was in 1900 in Paris, where a British team defeated a French side.

Financially speaking, including cricket in the Olympic programming is a no-brainer.

It will draw admirers from nations like Pakistan and India by tapping into the wealthy South Asian market.

Owing to throngs of fans and huge media deals in the country, India has become the economic powerhouse of cricket owing to the Indian Premier League, which features the game's international giants.

A professional Twenty20 league called Major League Cricket debuted in the US in July.

Greg Barclay, the head of the International Cricket Council, told reporters in Mumbai that the inclusion of cricket in the LA 2028 plan was "a win-win situation."

The New Zealander continued, "It's a huge day for cricket."

"We've got global sport, what I think is the fastest-growing global sport, but getting onto the biggest sporting stage in the world, the Olympics, is a massive shot in the arm for the game."

However, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said on Monday that boxing's inclusion in the 2028 Games is still "on hold" after stripping the International Boxing Association (IBA) of recognition due to a disagreement over the sport's governance.

Since 1920, boxing has been a component of every Olympics, and it will be at the Paris Games the following year.

However, the IBA was essentially ousted from the Olympic movement in June as a result of a contentious disagreement between the IOC and its Russian president, Umar Kremlev, who oversaw the Games.

Concerns over the legitimacy of IBA-sanctioned competitions as well as the economics and governance of the boxing regulatory organisation led to that decision.