Cricket takes guard for 2032 Olympics

Earlier this month, Jay Shah took over as chairman of the global governing body for cricket, the ICC. This week, he met with officials of the 2032 Brisbane Olympics organising committee to discuss the sport’s potential inclusion in the Summer Games.

Cricket is slated to return to the Summer Games four years hence, at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, after more than a century since its first and only appearance. And Shah appears to be set on ensuring that the sport features at the 2032 Brisbane Games as well.

“Very exciting time ahead for Cricket’s involvement in the Olympics movement – a meeting with the @Brisbane_2032 organizing committee in Brisbane, Australia today,” Shah posted on X with visuals of the meeting.

Shah officially took over the helm of ICC last week with a visit to its headquarters in Dubai. In his first speech as chairman, he explained why cricket should be part of the Olympic roster and underlined how it would be significant in making the sport popular in every nook and corner of the world. His Thursday meeting was attended by Brisbane 2032 organising committee chief Cindy Hook and Cricket Australia CEO Nick Hockley.

The former BCCI secretary, Shah is likely to head to The Gabba on Saturday to watch the third Test of the ongoing Border-Gavaskar Trophy series between India and Australia. India started the series on a promising note by winning the opener in Perth. Australia turned the tables in the second game in Adelaide with a dominant 10-wicket victory.

Among Shah’s immediate priorities is to find a solution to the hosting of Champions Trophy in February-March. A hybrid model has been agreed by all stakeholders but no announcement has been made yet, fuelling speculations over the future of the event.

No official announcement has been made as to how the cricket representatives from the West Indies or Americas will qualify for the 2028 Olympics.

(TF)