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The comeback of cricket to the Olympic Games in 2028 at Los Angeles is shaping up with confirmation from the International Cricket Council (ICC) that the men’s and women’s qualifying matches will be held in January and February 2028 respectively. The qualification system involves qualification via ranking and regional representation as well as the final qualifier. Additionally, there is an extra qualifying rule for the automatic fifth spot in case the host nation, United States of America, fails to qualify.
What’s New about the LA28 Olympic Cricket Qualifying System?
ICC’s most recent schedule for its events moves the two Olympic cricket qualifiers to January and February 2028 instead of 2027, as had previously been scheduled. This gives less than six months before the Olympic cricket tournament, set for July 12 to 29, 2028. The locations for the qualifiers have yet to be disclosed.
There have been changes to the contingency system for the women’s competition in the case that the United States doesn’t qualify by meeting the minimum rankings for the hosting nation. The fifth automatic slot will go to the team ranked fifth in the first-ever ICC Women’s Champions Trophy to be played in India from February 14 to 28, 2027.
LA 2028 Olympic Cricket: Key Details
- Olympic Games: Los Angeles 2028
- Sport format: T20 cricket
- Men’s teams: 6
- Women’s teams: 6
- Qualifier window: January–February 2028
- Teams in each qualifier: 8
- Qualifier venues: To be confirmed
- Olympic cricket dates: July 12–29, 2028
- Olympic cricket venue: Fairgrounds, Pomona, California
- Governing body: International Cricket Council (ICC)
How Teams Will Be Directly Qualified to Play in LA 2028
Women’s cricket
- Four teams have already earned direct qualification spots in the six teams’ Olympic tournament, namely Australia, India, South Africa, and Great Britain, which is represented by England. These teams qualified as the highest-ranked teams in the respective zones, Oceania, Asia, Africa, and Europe in the 2026 ICC Women’s T20 World Cup.
- For the other two spots, there is a reliance on the rule concerning host nation and also the Olympic qualifier.
- United States can directly earn a spot as the host nation if its women’s team is ranked among the top 15 in the ICC Women’s T20I rankings during the eligibility period of June 30 – December 31, 2026. Otherwise, the fifth spot will automatically go to the team that qualifies according to the new rule based on the Women’s Champions Trophy 2027.
- The final qualification spot will be determined through the Olympic qualifier involving eight teams.
Men’s cricket
- The ranking system used in men’s qualification is the ICC Men’s T20I rankings, and the four continental teams qualifying directly for this event will be the highest-ranked teams from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania, as per the rankings as on December 31, 2026. It is not just the four highest-ranked teams, as continental participation and eligibility are factors.
- USA, as the host country, will have the eligibility to qualify for one place directly provided their men’s side ranks within the top 15 between June 30 and December 31, 2026. In case of failure, the fifth place will be secured by the highest-ranked team which has not yet qualified.
- The sixth place will be determined through the Olympic qualifier.
Importance of the Caribbean Regional Qualifier
The West Indies team is a representation of several Caribbean countries by way of a cricket board. However, the West Indies is not an NOC recognized by the Olympics, hence the inability of the team to participate as one team in the Olympic tournament.
This can be sorted out by organizing the Caribbean Regional Qualifier, which is conducted by the ICC, if the particular West Indies team ranks high enough among the non-qualified teams.
Details of the Eight-Team Olympic Qualifier
The men’s and women’s qualification tournaments shall involve eight teams.
- Number of teams in each qualifier: 8
- Major means of selection: Top 7 highest ranked eligible teams which have not qualified automatically
- Regional qualifier: The winner of the Caribbean Regional Qualifier
- Qualification window: January-February 2028
- Hosts: Not yet known
- Number of Olympic spots per qualifier: 1
The qualifier shall decide the last team in the Olympic competition, which comprises of six teams, in addition to the top 7 highest-ranked eligible teams.
How Will the Cricket Be Played in the LA28 Olympics?
The games of Olympic cricket will be played in the T20 format, and six teams will take part in the men’s and women’s competitions. The format of the competition as proposed by the ICC includes two groups of three teams for each of the competitions. In the first part of the tournament, all teams will play the teams in their group, after which each team will play two further matches against teams from the opposite group.
- The final and silver medal match will be between the top two teams.
- Bronze medal match will be between the third and fourth teams.
- Number of players in the squad: A squad of 15 players per team.
- Venue: All games of the Olympic cricket will be held at the Fairgrounds in Pomona, California.
