Cricket is set to make a historic return to the Olympics at the LA 2028 Games, with the competition scheduled to begin on July 12. The medal matches will be held on July 20 (women’s) and July 29 (men’s).
This will be only the second time cricket features at the Olympics, the first being in Paris 1900, when Great Britain defeated France in a one-off match. At LA28, the sport returns in a modern T20 format, with separate men’s and women’s tournaments, each featuring six teams.
Each team will consist of 15 players, with 90 athlete quotas allocated per gender. All matches will be played at a temporary, purpose-built stadium at Fairplex in Pomona, located about 50 km from Los Angeles.
Matchdays will mostly feature double headers, with games starting at 9:00 AM and 6:30 PM local time (i.e., 9:30 PM and 7:00 AM IST, respectively). There will be no cricket matches on July 14 and 21.
Cricket joins baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes), and squash as the five new sports at LA28. India will also have high hopes in squash, with events scheduled from July 15 to 24 at the Universal City Squash Center.
Cricket’s inclusion follows its growing presence in global multi-sport events, such as the Commonwealth Games and the Asian Games, and marks a major step in the sport’s global expansion.
