The International Cricket Council (ICC), jointly with the International Olympic Committee (IOC), on Monday confirmed the qualification process for LA28 Olympics. With this, it also became clear that there is no guarantee of an India vs Pakistan fixture because Pakistan may miss out from qualifying for this major tournament that will be held in Los Angeles.
In 2028, cricket will return to the Olympics after 126 years! Cricket has previously been played only in the 1900 Paris Olympics. Then, only two teams, Great Britain and France, were part of the Olympics, with Great Britain defeating France in the one-off final in what was a two-day match to secure the gold medal.
In the LA Olympics 2028, both men’s and women’s cricket competitions will be held from July 12, 2028. The gold medal match is slated for July 29.
Where will the cricket matches in the LA28 Olympics be held?
All men’s and women’s cricket matches at the LA28 Olympics will be hosted at the Fairgrounds Stadium, which is a temporarily built venue in the city of Pomona, about 50 km from Los Angeles. Both men’s and women’s competitions will include six nations.
LA28 Olympics: What is the qualification process for the Olympics 2028?
The ICC confirmed that five of the six teams to take part in the LA28 Olympics will be decided through a combination of existing ICC events (for women) and ICC T20I rankings (for men), and it will be continent-based selections. The sixth team for both men’s and women’s competitions will come through from a newly introduced tournament, the ICC Olympics Qualifier.
For the men’s tournament at the Olympics 2028, five teams will be picked on the ICC Men’s T20I rankings as of 31 December 2026, with the top-ranked teams from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania earning direct qualification.
In the women’s competition, four of the six teams will qualify directly for the LA28 through their performances in the ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026.
LA28 Olympics: Which teams have qualified for Olympics 2028?
Four women’s teams – Australia, England, South Africa, and India – have qualified for the LA28 Olympics after the completion of the group stage round at the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. These four are the highest-placed eligible teams from their respective continents: Australia from Oceania, England from Europe, South Africa from Africa, and India from Asia, despite the fact that India failed to reach the semis.
West Indies have reached the semi-final of the WT20 World Cup, but they are ineligible for the Olympics as a composite of nations and not recognized as an IOC National Olympic Committee. But West Indies will get a shot at an Olympic berth through the ICC Caribbean Qualifier event and ICC Olympics Qualifier events.
As for the men’s tournament, five teams for the Olympics will be confirmed on 31 December 2026, and the sixth after the ICC Olympics Qualifier tournament.
Further, since the USA is the host nation, it is eligible to qualify for both events, but subject to being in the top 15 of the ICC T20I rankings on 31 December 2026.
There is a separate criterion for both genders in this. If the USA men’s team is not in the top 15 rankings on the cut-off date, the fifth spot will be awarded to the next-highest-ranked team from any continent. And if the USA women’s team doesn’t meet that criteria of being in the top 15, the fifth slot will be handed to the highest-placed non-qualified nation in the Women’s ICC T20I rankings from any continent on 1 March 2027.
Will there be an India vs Pakistan men’s match in Olympics 2028?
Since India is currently the No. 1 men’s ICC T20I team, they are all but qualified for the LA Olympics 2028 as the highest-ranked nation from Asia. If Pakistan doesn’t displace India in the T20I ranking, then they will have to play in an ICC Olympics Qualifier tournament with 7 other teams for only one spot in the LA28 Olympics.
So the chance of an India vs Pakistan match in the Olympics 2028 is slim.
Talking about the format of the men’s and women’s tournaments at the Olympics, the six teams will be grouped into two sets of three teams each. Every team will play the other two teams in its group and then play against the two teams in the opposite group who did not finish in the same position.
The top two teams will then meet in the final for the gold and silver medals, while the third- and fourth-placed teams will clash for the bronze medal.
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