Pakistan, New Zealand Unhappy, Set For LA 2028 Snub; India, Australia, USA Set To Qualify For Olympics: Report

Cricet's return to the Olympics comes with a big qualification challenge Photo : AP

KEY HIGHLIGHTS India, Australia, and the USA are set to play the 2028 LA Olympics' cricket event

Cricket last featured in the Olympics in 1900

The Olympics will see the sport in the T20 format

India, Australia are set to compete at the 2028 Los Angeles (LA) Olympics alongside the United States of America (USA) as cricket will return to the quadrennial event after a gap of 128 years. The competition will be held in the T20 format with both a male and female event.

It has been determined that the tournament will be a six-team event USA set to one of the teams as the host nation. However, there was a big question mark over the qualification criteria with just five spots remaining and no precedence in sight.

A report by the Guardian has revealed that at the International Cricket Council's (ICC) recent annual general meeting (AGM) in Singapore, it was decided that a regional qualification system will be used. The top-ranked team from Asia, Europe, Oceania, and Africa will qualify. The published information states that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) prefers a regional system as it allows teams from every region to participate.

Backlash From Pakistan, New Zealand

This will still leave one spot for qualification, but it has not been decided how that will be filled. However, the same report states that ICC's decision has sparked backlash from Pakistan and New Zealand, who are likely to miss out. The decision is yet to be ratified, but unlikely that a change will be made.

If this system is applied, India (Asia), South Africa (Africa), and Australia (Oceania) will qualify. England will also make the cut from Europe, but they will compete at the Olympics as Great Britian (GB) with a combined team from England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland.

There remains a chance that one of the teams from the Caribbean nations will make the cut if governance issues with the running of the USA's cricket are not solved. For those unversed, the West Indies cannot take part in the Olympics, and one of the island countries will be chosen as a representative. Although they cannot get the regional spot, as North America's spot is taken, the host country USA.

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