LA 2028: IOC says cricket’s Olympic return will be as six-team T20 tournament for men and women

England cricketer Paul Collingwood plays a cricket shot with the Olympic torch outside Durham cathedral during the torch relay before London 2012

Cricket’s return to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028 will be as a six-team T20 tournament for both genders, the International Olympic Committee has announced.

Participating teams will be able to field squads of up to 15 players after the IOC allocated quotas of 90 athletes per gender for the event.

The IOC has yet to reveal how teams will qualify for LA 2028, but it is understood organisers are keen to utilise cricket as a way to increase India’s interest in the Olympics.

India are the current T20 World Cup holders, were a draw for fans at the 2024 World Cup which the United States co-hosted and represent a commercial opportunity for the IOC with sponsors.

Before she was elected, IOC president Kirsty Coventry met with International Cricket Council chairman Jay Shah in Dubai at the recent Champions Trophy where LA 2028 was discussed.

Cricket’s only previous appearance at the Olympics was at Paris 1900, when Great Britain won by 158 runs against France in a one-off final, after the Netherlands and Belgium withdrew.

The England and Wales Cricket Board is understood to have held preliminary talks with Cricket Scotland about plans to field a TeamGB side.