Cricket in Olympics: South African batsman Faf du Plessis has backed the T10 format to include cricket in the Olympics.
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Women’s cricket will be a part of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, and it will be played in T20 format. Birmingham’s Edgbaston Stadium will host all the games. This is for the first time that Women’s cricket will be played in a multi-sport competition.
There has been a lot of talks about including Men’s event in the Olympics. ICC is eyeing the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles to make inclusion happen, whereas they have also submitted their bid for the same. In 1900, Cricket was a part of the Olympics in 1900, where Great Britain defeated France in the only game. However, unlike women’s events, ICC is looking at the T10 format as an option for the Olympics.
Faf du Plessis on T10 Cricket in Olympics
Faf has been a regular part of the Abu Dhabi T10 League. He will represent the Bangla Tigers in the upcoming season starting November 2021. Plessis has played all the conventional forms of cricket but he is “attracted to the T10 format”.
Faf has revealed that the T10 format is one for the future, and it can definitely be used for the Olympics.
“I think players like myself will keep looking at tournaments like this. The future of T10 is looking good,” du Plessis said.
“It’s a format that can be used in the Olympics. The quick nature of the T10 also makes it attractive to fans. I think T10 is only going to get better and better.”
Greg Barclay, chairman of ICC has also expressed his desire to see cricket at the Olympics. “We have more than a billion fans globally and almost 90 percent of them want to see cricket at the Olympics,” Barclay said.
“Our sport is united behind this bid, and we see the Olympics as a part of cricket’s long-term future.”
“Clearly the game has a strong and passionate fanbase, particularly in South Asia where 92% of our fans come from, whilst there are also 30 million cricket fans in the USA.”
ICC has officially submitted its bid for the Olympics, and if all goes well, Cricket will definitely be a part of the 2028 Los Angeles games, but the format is undecided.
