Cricket’s Olympic return seen as route to India’s vast sports market

Cricket’s return to the Olympics at the Los Angeles 2028 Games is being cast by Olympic and cricket officials as more than a sporting decision, with the sport expected to open the door to huge new audiences in India and across the subcontinent.

After an absence stretching back to 1900, cricket is set to rejoin the Olympic programme in a format that officials say fits modern broadcasting and the Games’ push for younger viewers. IOC Sports Director Pierre Ducrey said cricket reaches markets where the Olympics have been less entrenched, adding that it would bring in viewers who do not regularly watch the Games.

He said, "Cricket has been one of the major global sports not to feature in the Olympics," and added, "Cricket will bring to the LA Games audiences that may not necessarily tune in regularly to watch the Olympic Games." Ducrey also described the move as a "win-win compromise" that would strengthen Olympic appeal in places where interest in cricket is especially strong.

Broadcast value in focus

The commercial case is already visible in the market for media rights. The IOC said it was in constructive discussions with a number of key players in the Indian subcontinent over rights for LA28 and confirmed there had been strong interest following cricket’s addition to the programme.

Anne-Sophie Voumard, the IOC’s managing director for television and marketing services, said late last year that the value of the Indian subcontinent deal for the 2028 Olympics would amount to "a multiple" of the 2024 contract. The Paris 2024 agreement was estimated at around $30 million.

There are already strong links between Olympic and cricket broadcasting in India. JioStar, created through the 2024 merger of Reliance Industries’ and Walt Disney’s Indian media assets, held the rights for the Paris 2024 Olympics and the Milano Cortina 2026 Winter Games, and also owns the rights to show the Indian Premier League. Nita Ambani, wife of Reliance chairman Mukesh Ambani, is an IOC member and hosted the IOC session in Mumbai in 2023.

Why T20 changed the equation

Cricket’s path back to the Olympics gathered pace after the IOC recognised the International Cricket Council in 2010, but the sport’s traditional formats remained too long for the Olympic schedule. The rise of Twenty20, a roughly three-hour version of the game, changed that calculation, especially after IOC reforms in 2014 allowed host cities to propose additional sports.

ICC Chief Executive Sanjog Gupta said the shortest format was particularly suited to the Olympic stage because of its pace, uncertainty and broader international reach. He said, "The jeopardy or the unpredictability that live sports benefit from is maximised in this format," and described T20 as cricket’s "handshake with the world".

Gupta said T20 had widened access to the sport well beyond the 12 full members that dominate Test cricket. "It’s global, more accessible and representative. T20 ticks all the right boxes," he said.

A long push with an eye on the future

Ducrey said LA28 would mark the culmination of a 21-year process that began with cricket’s provisional recognition by the IOC in 2007. He said the interests of the cricket world and the Olympic movement had taken time to align closely enough for the sport’s inclusion in the 2028 programme.

The financial muscle behind cricket’s Olympic case has been strengthened by the Indian Premier League, now one of the world’s most valuable sports properties. The 10-team tournament is valued at around $20 billion, and the 2026 season drew 1.2 billion viewers across platforms.

Officials also see longer-term Olympic potential for the sport. Brisbane will host the 2032 Games in another major cricket nation, while India is pushing Ahmedabad as host of the 2036 Olympics. Gupta said cricket’s audience profile also made it attractive for the Olympic movement, with nearly 50 per cent of followers under 35 and 35pc under 27.

He said, "As the Olympic movement looks to the future of its own significance and relevance of sport in various markets, cricket can potentially play a huge role in driving that forward," adding, "Cricket is the fastest growing large-scale team sport in the world. It’s a massive opportunity for the Olympic movement to ride on."