Cricket to Make Olympic Debut in T20 Format at Los Angeles 2028 with Six Teams in Each Category

Cricket is set to make its long-awaited debut in the modern Olympic era at the Los Angeles 2028 Games, with six teams each confirmed for the men’s and women’s T20 tournaments. Scheduled to take place from July 12 to July 29, the tournament will feature 90 athlete quotas in each category, allowing nations to field squads of up to 15 players.

The women’s medal match will be held on July 20, while the men’s final is slated for July 29. All matches will be played at the Pomona Fairplex, located about 50 kilometers from downtown Los Angeles. Most days will feature double-header fixtures, with matches beginning at 9:00 AM and 6:30 PM local time, giving fans two games per day during much of the tournament window.

This inclusion represents a historic milestone for the sport, marking its first full-format appearance in the Olympics. While cricket did feature in the 1900 Paris Olympics, it was limited to a one-off match between Great Britain and France, with Great Britain winning the gold. LA28 thus ushers in a new chapter, placing cricket on one of the world’s grandest sporting stages.

The International Olympic Committee had already confirmed the number of teams and the venue for LA28 earlier in April. However, the qualification process for both men’s and women’s competitions is yet to be announced and is expected to be discussed during the ICC’s Annual Conference in Singapore beginning July 17.

Cricket’s Olympic inclusion is a significant step in the sport’s global growth. In recent years, it has expanded its footprint through multi-sport events. Women’s cricket debuted at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham in 2022, while both men’s and women’s cricket have featured in the Asian Games in 2010, 2014, and 2023.

The momentum for cricket’s wider exposure also gained strength through the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup held last year, co-hosted by the USA and the West Indies. Matches were played in American venues including Grand Prairie, Lauderhill, and New York, with the highlight being the high-stakes encounter between India and Pakistan at the newly constructed Nassau County International Cricket Stadium. This demonstrated the sport’s growing global fan base and reinforced its readiness for the Olympic spotlight.