LAHORE, The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday confirmed its intention to bid for cricket\u2019s inclusion in the Olympic games.<\/p>\n
The ICC convened a working group to lead the bid on behalf of the sport, which will focus on cricket becoming part of the Olympic family for LA 2028, Brisbane 2032 and beyond, said the information made available here by the ICC.<\/p>\n
ICC Chair Greg Barclay said: \u201cFirstly on behalf of everyone at the ICC, I would like to congratulate the IOC, Tokyo 2020 and the people of Japan for staging such an incredible Games in such difficult circumstances. It truly was fantastic to watch and captured the imagination of the world and we would love for cricket to be a part of future games.<\/p>\n
\u201cOur sport is united behind this bid, and we see the Olympics as a part of cricket\u2019s long-term future. We have more than a billion fans globally and almost 90 percent of them want to see cricket at the Olympics.<\/p>\n
\u201cClearly cricket has a strong and passionate fanbase, particularly in South Asia where 92% of our fans come from, whilst there are also 30 million cricket fans in the USA. The opportunity for those fans to see their heroes competing for an Olympic medal is tantalising.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe believe cricket would be a great addition to the Olympic Games, but we know it won\u2019t be easy to secure our inclusion as there are so many other great sports out there wanting to do the same. But we feel now is the time to put our best foot forward and show what a great partnership cricket and the Olympics could be.\u201d<\/p>\n
England and Wales Cricket Board Chair Ian Watmore will Chair the ICC Olympic Working Group and he will be joined by the ICC Independent Director Indra Nooyi, Chair of Zimbabwe Cricket Tavengwa Mukuhlani, ICC Associate Member Director and Vice President of the Asian Cricket Council Mahinda Vallipuram and Chair of USA Cricket Paraag Marathe who believes the time is ripe for an Olympic bid:<\/p>\n
\u201cUSA Cricket is thrilled to be able to support cricket\u2019s bid for inclusion in the Olympics, the timing of which aligns perfectly with our continuing plans to develop the sport in the USA.<\/p>\n
With so many passionate cricket fans and players already in the USA, and a huge global audience and following for the sport around the world, we believe that cricket\u2019s inclusion will add great value to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games and help us to achieve our own vision for establishing cricket as a mainstream sport in this country.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
LAHORE, The International Cricket Council (ICC) on Tuesday confirmed its intention to bid for cricket\u2019s inclusion in the Olympic games. The ICC convened a working group to lead the bid on behalf of the sport, which will focus on cricket becoming part of the Olympic […]<\/p>\n
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