India and Australia are expected to qualify from Asia and Oceania, while Pakistan and New Zealand will not play cricket at the Los Angeles Olympics.
Cricket is back in the Olympics after 128 years; the last time it was played was in 1900 at the Paris competition. In the 2028 LA Games, there will be T20 men’s and women’s tours by six teams each. The positive part about this is that India has been invited; the negative part of this is that Pakistan is not going to be a part of the action, and this is something that is making people in the cricket fan group angry.
It is factual that the Guardian has confirmed that India will feature in men’s cricket when Los Angeles hosts the Olympics in 2028 and Pakistan will not feature. The ICC chose to implement a regional qualification system of giving slots to the leading competing teams in different regions. Such a strategy has infuriated most cricket boards.
The existing arrangement reveals that the ICC took this step in their recent meeting held in Singapore earlier this month. They desire Asian, Oceanian, European, African, and American teams to be represented. Due to this regional system, good teams may not qualify even in the event that they are superior to the teams that qualify.
ICC officers had in fact worked on this regional strategy in order to meet Olympic demands. The International Olympic Committee desires a sport to be played across the world; therefore, it is not only the rating of the sport; geography plays an important role. India will be the representative of Asia, and Australia will enjoy the Oceania place.
It is much talked about that Pakistan and New Zealand are very indignant over this call. The two nations are players in strong cricket teams who can win medals. The new system is ousting them, though Indians and Australians are ahead of them in their respective ranks. This is causing a great controversy in cricket across the world.
How the Regional System Works
The international World Cup of cricketing teams is divided into regional groups. One goes to Asia, and that goes to India since it is the highest-ranked team of the region. Australia is the place to be in Oceania. Great Britain is taken to represent Europe. Africa comes in with a first-rank team.
The hosting of the Americas slot was to be done by the host nation, the USA, but that might not be the case because USA Cricket is experiencing trouble with its board. Earlier this month, ICC requested that the board members of USA Cricket step down. A Caribbean country may be in their position.
This is a system that will ensure that each continent is also represented, though some powerful teams will be left out. Pakistan will be ranked higher than many other teams that will make it to the games. There is also a very strong T20 team that will not play in New Zealand.
Why This Decision Matters
The announcement of cricket resuming at the Olympics is big news to the sport. It will ensure that cricket gains new audiences in other parts of the world. Youths in other countries that do not usually play very much cricket may be attracted, hence boosting the game to be played with other parts of the world.
Nevertheless, there are issues that have been brought up by the regional system. Millions of Pakistanis were fans of cricket, and they wanted to see their team participating in the Olympics. The cricket history of New Zealand is also proud. They both believe that the setup is against them.
The ICC was also left with a choice of pleasing authorities of the Olympics and all boards of cricket. They decided to take the Olympic path because cricket has to demonstrate its belonging in the Olympics. This ruling may define whether cricket will be part of the Olympics.
Women’s Cricket at Olympics
In contrast to the men, the spots for the women will be decided during next year’s T20 WC in England that will be played between June 12 and July 5 and involve 12 teams.
The system of qualification is more equalized since it is based on how a particular team performs in a large tournament. Teams can win the right to go to the Olympics when they play well in the World Cup so that there is an equal opportunity to participate in such competitions.
Confirmed Olympics 2028 Cricket Format:
- 6 teams each for men’s and women’s T20 tournaments
- Regional qualification system for men
- World Cup performance-based qualification for women
- Games to be held in Los Angeles from July to August 2028
