In what might sound freakish to everyone at the moment, it is India who has strongly opposed the idea of including cricket in the 2024 Olympic Games. Cricket in Olympics would have certainly assured a medal prospect for India but it is strange to learn that it is BCCI is strongly against cricket being part of the Olympics as they are a firm believer that cricket is not an Olympic Sport.
Cricket was part of the Olympic games around 117 years ago in 1900 Paris Games and now the International Cricket Council (ICC) is doing all possible things to push for a return of cricket in the 2024 event in the T20 format but for that to materialise, the ICC needs to convince the Indian board who happens to be the richest board in the world.
“We have heard about the ICC’s Olympics initiative but most members are not keen,” a senior BCCI functionary was quoted by the Economic Times.
The International Olympic Council (IOC) has made it pretty clear to the ICC that there has to be assurance of the top teams and players and then only the idea can even be considered. Implementation is a matter of future but for now, they have to assure the IOC of participation of top teams and top bracket players.
The ICC is not in a position to consider the bid without BCCI given the fact that they are the richest board in the world and they have a huge fan base all over the world. They have a huge market for this particular sport so for cricket to be included in Olympics their decision remains the final as of now.
“The ICC is continuing to explore the possibility of cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics and the main thrust of that at present is on convincing the BCCI. But with everything that has happened there over the last few months, it has delayed the process,” a source was quoted as saying by Times of India.
A particular section of BCCI is not pleased with the fact that they were given raw deal by ICC for the revenue sharing model.
“The BCCI has been treated very shabbily by the ICC in recent times. Now if they come to us for their own benefits, why would we comply? And we don’t even know about the financial aspect of such a big step,” a senior board member said.
However, the board is aware of the fact that there is a strong sentiment for cricket so they haven’t ruled out its readmission yet. “We are not saying it’s completely ruled out, but a decision shouldn’t be forced upon us. It should be an independent, well-considered decision,” another official added.