Jay Shah meets IOC prez to give cricket at Olympics a push

Mumbai, Jan 21 (IANS/WISHAVWARTA) With cricket set to make its debut in the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028, International Cricket Council (ICC) Chairman Jay Shah met the President of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) Thomas Bach to give the move further push.

Jay Shah has recently taken over as ICC Chairman while Bach is in the final stretch of his tenure as IOC President before the elections later this year.

But their meeting in Lausanne, Switzerland, will take forward the current cooperation between the two organisations till LA28 and beyond.

“Momentum continues to build around cricket’s inclusion as an @olympics sport at the @la28games and beyond, with @jayshah220988 meeting International Olympic Committee (IOC) President Thomas Bach in Lausanne, Switzerland this week,” the ICC said in a story on its Instagram page.

Cricket was included in the LA28 sports programme during the 141st IOC Session in Mumbai along with Flag Football, Lacrosse, Squash, and Baseball/Softball.

Cricket is already part of two of the other multi-sport extravaganzas, the Commonwealth Games and Asian Games. It was hosted in T20 format for women in the 2022 Commonwealth Games and in the Asian Games in Hangzhou, which was organised in 2023, for both men and women.

Being part of the Olympic Games will take it forward. Though the final format of how cricket will be conducted in the Los Angeles Olympics is yet to be finalised, it is likely to be in T20 format.