Cricket will make a historic return to the Olympic Games at Los Angeles 2028, with matches set to begin on July 12. The organisers released the full competition schedule on Monday, confirming that the medal matches for both men’s and women’s cricket will take place on July 20 and 29.
This will be the sport’s first appearance at the Olympics in 128 years.
Cricket was last played at the Olympics in Paris 1900, where only two teams, Great Britain and France, competed in a one-off match. That game is now considered an unofficial Test, and Great Britain won the gold medal.
At LA 2028, the sport will return in a modern format with separate T20 tournaments for men and women. Each tournament will award gold, silver, and bronze medals.
Six teams will take part in both the men’s and women’s events. Each team will consist of 15 players, with a total of 90 athlete quotas confirmed for each gender.
The matches will be held at a temporary, purpose-built cricket venue at the Fairgrounds in Pomona, around 50 kilometres from Los Angeles. The venue, known as Fairplex, is a large complex that has been used for various events for over a century.
Cricket matches at LA 2028 will mostly be played as double-headers, starting at 9:00 AM and 6:30 PM local time in Los Angeles. In Indian Standard Time, the first match of the day will begin at 9:30 PM, and the second match will start at 7:00 AM the next morning. No matches have been scheduled for July 14 and 21.
Cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics is part of a larger trend of the sport featuring in international multi-sport events. Men’s cricket was played at the 1998 Commonwealth Games, and women’s cricket debuted at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Both men’s and women’s T20 tournaments were also held at the Asian Games in 2010, 2014, and 2023.
Cricket is one of five new sports approved by the International Olympic Committee for LA 2028. The other four are baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes), and squash. Squash is also expected to see strong Indian participation, with its Olympic events scheduled to be held at the Universal City Squash Center in Los Angeles from July 15. The squash medal matches will take place on July 23 and 24.
