Cricket, undoubtedly the most-watched and most followed sport in the world, has gained popularity in very less time. Despite making its place widely, cricket is yet to be imposed in the Olympics. Although there have been several attempts to introduce it in the Olympics, none of them has been successful so far.
Cricket was yet to make the final cut in the Tokyo Olympics 2022 despite many tries made for raising the game in the quadrennial event. In recent statements, the CEO of the International Cricket Council (ICC) has talked about the initiative saying the purpose of familiarising cricket with the Olympics is not to earn money but to greet it with non-cricket market.
“In many of our members, being seen as an Olympic sport and having an association with the government and the national Olympic movement is something that is going to be really beneficial in terms of facilities and high-performance assistance,” said Allardice as quoted as saying in SEN Radio show ‘This Is Your Journey thanks to Tobin Brothers’.
“It’s certainly not a money-making exercise from our point of view, it’s about getting exposure for cricket in markets where we may not be popular”, he added.
“And the other one is about giving all of our 106 members the opportunity to engage more closely with their governments”, the ICC CEO added.
It must be noted that Women's Cricket will make its debut in the Commonwealth games 2022 which will take place in England, Birmingham from 28th July to 8th August. Men's cricket has already been played in Commonwealth games back in 1998 in Kuala Lampur.
Reportedly, the ICC will once again bid for induction of Cricket in the Olympics 2028 Los Angeles, and the Olympics 2032 Brisbane. The subsequent edition of the Olympics will be held in Paris in 2024 from July 26 to August 11.
