LOS ANGELES – Pakistan’s participation is in doubts as International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Thursday officially decided to include six men’s and six women’s cricket teams in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.
Cricket was last featured in the Olympics in 1900, during the Paris Games.
In the 2028 LA Olympics, cricket will be played in the T20 format. Both the men’s and women’s events will consist of six teams each, with a total quota of 90 athletes per category. Each team will comprise 15 players.
The International Cricket Council (ICC) has 12 full members.
The event program and athlete quota have been approved by the IOC Executive Board.
However, the venues for cricket matches at the LA Olympics are yet to be finalized.
Pakistan may face challenges in qualifying for the Olympics as its men’s team currently ranks seventh and the women’s team eighth in ICC rankings. Only the top six teams in the rankings will qualify which means that Pakistan must improve its standing to secure a spot.
A total of 11,198 athletes will participate in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The Games will feature 31 sports from the Olympic program and 5 additional sports proposed by the host city. There will be 351 medal events in total, including 55 in aquatics and 48 in athletics.
Across the 36 sports included in the LA Games, 5,543 male and 5,655 female athletes will take part. Of the 351 medal events, 161 will be for women, 165 for men, and 25 will be mixed events.
In football, for the first time, there will be 16 women’s teams and 12 men’s teams. Swimming will also see the inclusion of 50-meter races in backstroke, butterfly, and breaststroke categories.
Additionally, the IOC board approved new medal events in sports climbing and rowing.
Under the LA host program, the squash would debut with 16 male and 16 female players. The flag football, lacrosse, softball and cricket would each feature six teams.
The women’s water polo would now include two additional teams as well.
PSL X opening ceremony to be held at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium on Friday
