Cricketer Ricky Ponting from Australia is happy that 2028 Los Angeles will include cricket in the Olympic programme. It is interesting to note that cricket was last played at an Olympic event in 1900 when Britain beat France by 158 runs to win gold. The sport should return after 128 years with Los Angeles as its hosting city for the occasion.
The LA28 Organising Committee suggested that five more disciplines be included alongside baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse and squash. Among those was also cricket.
The International Olympic Committee (IOC) validated cricket’s presence during the 141st IOC Session held in Mumbai in October 2023. Before this happened Ponting said it was going to be good for cricket while bringing back Olympics to the Games was what everyone has been dreaming even longer than him.
Ricky Ponting discusses cricket’s inclusion in the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics:
According to Ricky Ponting, an iconic Australian cricketer, it is exciting news that cricket will be included in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games. Ponting made this comment before the event stating how much would benefit this sport and had been everyone’s wish for a long time to bring the Olympics back into the sporting world.
“It can only be a positive thing for our game. I’ve sat on various committees over the last 15 or 20 years and it’s always been on the top of almost every agenda – how do we get the game back into the Olympics? And finally, it’s there,” said Ponting on ICC Review.
“It’s only four years away. Once again, in the US by that stage, hopefully, with MLC (Major League Cricket), another four years down the track hopefully growing. Who knows, there might even be more teams in the MLC by then. I think it also gives cricket a chance to break into the grassroots level in the US. But the thing about the Olympic Games, I mean, it’s not the host nation. It’s about the audience that it opens up,” he added.
Thanks to an exciting India vs. Pakistan match during the T20 World Cup in the USA, cricket’s recent performance was well praised. During the Los Angeles Olympics, the sport may be seen by a larger audience.
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