Jay Shah, Indian cricket board secretary confirms BCCI’s support for cricket’s Olympic entry in 2028. From a solitary two-day fixture between Great Britain and France in the 1900 Olympics, prospects of cricket’s inclusion as an 8-team medal sport for men and women in Los Angeles 2028 have brightened.
Jay Shah: Once Cricket Is Added In The Olympics, India Will Participate
As India’s unprecedented journey in the Olympics comes to an end with India winning 7 medals, the cricket-crazy country still awaits re-entry of the sport in the Olympics, where it last featured in 1900 and didn’t involve India which was yet to be an independent country and was under British rule.
“Once cricket is added in the Olympics, India will be participating,” BCCI secretary Jay Shah said. “The BCCI and the ICC are on the same page as far as participation in the Olympics is concerned.”
While cricket has been a part of the Commonwealth Games in the past, the last time it had featured in Olympics was over 120 years ago, in the year 1900. Talks between the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have been taking place since the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Cricket had previously featured in the 1900 Paris Olympics. After Belgium and Netherlands pulled out, only one match in the tournament, the final, took place which saw Great Britain defeat France by 158 runs. However, cricket was never played again in the international Games.
It culminated in the formation of ICC’s Olympic Committee last year which fueled hopes for the addition of the game to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The Indian cricket board pledged Rs. 10 crores to assist the Tokyo-bound Indian contingent’s marketing budget. They also announced a cash prize totalling Rs. 4 crores for the seven medal winners on Saturday.
Jay Shah announced a Rs 1 crore cash reward for star javelin thrower Neeraj Chopra after his historic gold medal-winning feat in the ongoing Tokyo Olympics. Jay Shah also announced that Indian athletes Mirabai Chanu and Ravi Dahiya who have won silver medals in the Games will get Rs 50 lakh each from BCCI.
Jay Shah said BCCI will give Rs 25 lakh each to bronze medal winners — shuttler PV Sindhu, boxer Lovlina Borgohain and wrestler Bajrang Punia. Also, the Indian men’s hockey team will get Rs 1.25 crore for their sensational show which saw them claiming a medal after 41 years in the sport, said Jay Shah.
BCCI Happy To Work Together With The Government And Help Increase India’s Medal Chances
The ICC, which has 92 Associate members but only 12 members play Test cricket, has been slow on the Olympics front. Many of the top Test nations have in the past have had an insular view of safeguarding their playing window and TV rights revenue and resisting cricket’s entry into the Olympics.
Now, with an agreement amongst most leading cricket boards, it has been in constant talks with IOC and an Olympics committee formed for the purpose. With a nudge from the government to increase India’s medal prospects, the BCCI administration has also switched its stance.
“The BCCI is more than happy to work together with the government and help increase India’s medal chances,” a BCCI official said.
Cricket has been added as a discipline in the 2022 Commonwealth Games (Birmingham, July-Aug). There’s cricket in the 2022 Asian Games (Hangzhou, September) too.
With the cricket calendar congested with ICC events, bilateral cricket, and franchise leagues, finding a window for each of these games consistently may become a challenge. That is why the Commonwealth Games will only have women’s cricket. The Olympics, it is learned, will require the participation of men and women.
T20 has emerged as the format of choice despite some Associate nations championing the introduction of T10. The English cricket board has explored the prospects of taking the Hundred-ball format to the Olympics, riding on its newly launched league. With neither format having international status, ICC is expected to start with T20Is.
With the Olympics fever high, the Board of Control for Cricket in India secretary Jay Shah has confirmed that the Indian cricket team will take part in the Olympics if the sport is added to the Games. It is reported that it will be an 8-team event for both men’s and women’s teams. However, the India Olympic Committee should not have any issue with BCCI participating in the events and the Indian board will also need the support of the government.