Cricket is set to return to the Olympics after over a century, and the International Cricket Council (ICC) has finalised how the six participating teams will be picked for the Los Angeles 2028 Games. During its recent Board meeting in Dubai on Friday, the global cricket body confirmed that six teams each from both men’s and women’s categories will feature in cricket’s first appearance at the Games since the Paris Olympics in 1900. The ICC has been in a huddle discussing the possible arrangements, and the initial idea of just the top six teams as per the ICC T20I rankings has been put to rest. It will now be an arrangement where the top team from each region/continent will make the cut, and the sixth team will come through a global qualifier.“There have been discussions around the participation of teams, and it has been decided that the six teams will come through the top-ranked team from each region/continent, while the sixth comes from the global qualifier. The details will be shared by the ICC in due course, but the roadmap has more or less been frozen,” says a veteran administrator who was part of the meeting in Dubai.The arrangement means every top side from each continent/region will make the first five teams. That essentially means that, based on current rankings, India qualify from Asia, Australia from Oceania, England from Europe, South Africa from Africa, and it will be interesting to see whether the USA — considering they are hosts — qualify from the Americas or West Indies would take the spot. The details of the global qualifier are likely to be shared by the global cricket body soon.There could be a strong possibility of not seeing an India vs Pakistan contest at LA28, as the details of the global qualifier are still unknown. In the detailed statement after the meeting, the ICC mentioned the success of women’s cricket and also shared an update on the LA28 Games.“The Board reviewed the ICC’s ongoing engagement with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games (LA28), as cricket deepens its footprint in the global multisport landscape. At LA28, both the men’s and women’s T20 events will feature six teams each, comprising 28 matches in total,” read the media release.
