Former Australian skipper Ricky Ponting termed the prospect of cricket’s inclusion in LA28 Olympic Games ‘exciting’. That’s the development that shall end up doing a sport that has not been in the Olympics since 1900, which only had Great Britain and France competing, off a 128-year absence. Former captain Ponting said this was always a goal within the cricketing committees to work on, towards its global reach by entering the Olympic Games.
Cricket’s inclusion in LA28 may bring new audience to the game, believes Ponting
He believes that if cricket is introduced into the Olympics, it could be a springboard for its induction at the grassroots level in the United States. Exposure to the global audience through the Olympic Games is seen to be a defining moment for a game like cricket. This would make it more popular and see it grow further in the emerging markets.
However, Ponting admitted that there lay a lot of work ahead of them—particularly regarding getting the necessary infrastructure to stage cricket at the Olympics. He said that the qualification pathways will have to be planned very carefully because only six or seven teams are going to play there, making it highly competitive.
“The thing about the Olympic Games, it’s not [about] the host nation. It’s about the audience that it opens up,” Ponting said. “The Olympic Games being viewed by so many people all around the world, it just opens up completely different audiences to our game that’s seemingly growing on a daily basis anyway. It can only be a real positive thing for the game.”
Despite all the struggles, he is optimistic about the future of cricket. He felt that the LA28 Olympic inclusion of both men’s and women’s cricket teams playing in the T20 format is an indication that things are on the right track for the sport. For Ponting, though, it doesn’t stop there—he was further buoyed by the potential doors the Olympic appearance could open for the sport in new markets, particularly with the recent T20 World Cup being co-hosted with West Indies in the USA.
“Facilities and infrastructure and those things are going to be key, and how many [participating] teams they actually decide on. I think it’s only six or seven teams that they’re talking about, so qualification is going to be at a premium – how you actually qualify to get into the Olympic Games.
“So all those are things to think about, [but] I’m really excited about where the game’s headed and the growth of different markets that we’re seeing emerge.”
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