MUMBAI: Cricket's wait to take the first giant step towards the Olympics has been delayed. An executive board meeting of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), supposed to be held on Friday in Lausanne, Switzerland to recommend the inclusion of cricket and eight other sports in the Los Angeles Olympics Games in 2028, has now been put off for another day, the IOC said in a statement on Wednesday.
"Due to ongoing discussions between the IOC and the (LA2028) Organising Committee, the Olympic Programme Commission has not yet had the opportunity to hold its meeting to prepare its final recommendation for the IOC executive board. As a consequence, the sports programme for the Olympic Games LA28 will be discussed during a later IOC executive board meeting, to take place at a date to be decided," the IOC stated.
A 15-member executive board, consisting of IOC president Thomas Bach, four vice-presidents, and 10 other members was supposed to consider a final recommendation from the LA 2028 Games organizing committee about including new sports.
The nine sports seeking inclusion at LA28 are cricket, flag football, karate, kickboxing, baseball-softball, lacrosse, breakdancing, squash and motorsport. If the executive board opts for cricket in its future meeting, the next step will involve a full approval (ratification) of the decision at the IOC session in Mumbai next month from Oct 15-17. TOI understands the International Cricket Council (ICC) is optimistic about these steps.
Cricket is growing in popularity in the US, as was evident during the inaugural Major League Cricket (MLC) held in July.
(With inputs from Reuters)
