LA 2028: Is a fairground, far from the city, the best venue to usher cricket into the Olympics?

A temporary, purpose-built venue at the Fairgrounds in Pomona — a city located about 50 kilometres from Los Angeles — does not quite sound like the ideal venue for cricket to stage its return to the Olympics after more than 125 years.

However, this is where the likes of Hardik Pandya, Mitchell Marsh and Harry Brook will battle it out, per the programme that the International Olympic Committee (IOC) released for the event on 15 July, Tuesday.

Officially known as the Fairplex, the nearly 500-acre complex has hosted the Los Angeles County Fair since 1922 and regularly serves as a venue for concerts, trade shows, sporting events and cultural gatherings.

There will be six teams each in the men’s and women’s categories, with the event in the T20 format starting on 12 July, with 20 and 29 July being earmarked for the medal matches. The gold, silver and bronze medals at stake will bring three out of the six teams on the podium — with India looking a certainty to end up as one of them.

The format for qualifications will be decided in due course, but a six-team fray makes it almost a certain case for a group league (read: a India vs Pakistan clash) and then the knockout stages.

A total quota of 90 athletes has been allocated for the two genders, allowing every team to name a 15-member squad.

Olympics: Cricket, in T20 avatar, set to make an entry from LA 2028

Back home, it’s a no-brainer that the success of cricket — both in terms of TV viewership and on-ground attendance — will play a key role in India pushing its bid for the 2036 Olympics, with Ahmedabad as the candidate city. The International Cricket Council’s (ICC) ploy to search for new frontiers by making the US co-hosts for the last T20 World Cup met its fair share of criticism, however, on various counts — like the wicket and logistics. Will the IOC put their best foot forward to address them?

A reasonably successful ‘debut’ in the T20 avatar at LA, meanwhile, would also provide the perfect launchpad for cricket at Brisbane 2032 — given the great following the sport enjoys in Australia — as well as India should it get the nod.

It was in March 2024 that Virat Kohli, who signed off from the T20 format after the World T20 triumph last year, stoked the public imagination about a possible U-turn when he jokingly told the media at a promotional event ahead of the IPL, ‘’I don’t know... Maybe if we are playing for the gold medal, I might just sneak in for a game, get a medal and come back home.’’

However, that seemed to be in jest, as Kohli would be nearly 40 by the time the 2028 Games roll around and may be done with the sport altogether.

Interestingly, Australia’s Steve Smith, who will be 39 in 2028, had also expressed his desire to continue playing and be a part of at least one of the Olympics.

In Indian Standard Time, the first match of the day will start at 9:30 p.m., while the late game will start from 7:00 a.m. the following day.

Cricket’s only appearance at the Olympics to date was exactly 125 years ago, with only two teams — one from Great Britain and one from France — competing in a one-off two-day match, now recognised as an unofficial Test. Great Britain bagged the gold medal, surprising no one.

Cricket is one of five new sports to feature at the upcoming Olympics. The IOC approved cricket’s inclusion for LA28 two years ago, along with baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash.

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