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Legendary Australia cricketer Ricky Ponting mentioned having cricket within the 2028 Olympic Video games on the Los Angeles will simply open up a totally completely different viewers for the sport. Cricket final featured within the Olympics in 1900, and the game is ready to make its long-awaited comeback on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Cricket was among the many 5 further sports activities proposed by the LA28 Organising Committee for inclusion alongside baseball-softball, flag soccer, lacrosse and squash.
The Worldwide Olympic Committee (IOC) formally confirmed cricket’s inclusion on the 141st IOC Session held in Mumbai in October final yr. “It might probably solely be a optimistic factor for our recreation. I’ve sat on numerous committees over the past 15 or 20 years and it is at all times been on the highest of just about each agenda – how can we get the sport again into the Olympics? And at last, it is there.”
“It is solely 4 years away. As soon as once more, within the US by that stage, hopefully, with MLC (Main League Cricket), one other 4 years down the observe hopefully rising. Who is aware of, there would possibly even be extra groups within the MLC by then. I believe it additionally provides cricket an opportunity to interrupt into the grassroots stage within the US.”
“However the factor in regards to the Olympic Video games, I imply, it isn’t the host nation. It is in regards to the viewers that it opens up. The Olympic Video games being considered by so many individuals all all over the world, it simply opens up utterly completely different audiences to our recreation that is seemingly rising every day anyway. It might probably solely be an actual optimistic factor for the sport,” mentioned Ponting within the newest episode of The ICC Overview present.
Ponting, the three-time ODI World Cup winner, just lately coached the Washington Freedom, to this yr’s Main League Cricket title, and had a good thought of how cricket is considered within the USA. “Amenities and infrastructure and people issues are going to be key and what number of groups they really determine on. I believe it is solely six or seven groups that they are speaking about.”
“So qualification goes to be at a premium, the way you truly qualify to get into the Olympic Video games. So all these issues to consider, I am actually enthusiastic about the place the sport’s headed and the expansion of various markets that we’re seeing emerge,” he added on the state of MLC.
Ponting additionally highlighted how cricket can use baseball’s fanbase to draw consideration and increase its recognition. “And the way in which that I form of try to examine the 2 is we have all been to video games of Main League Baseball. Large occasions, the bat and ball recreation that Individuals are rising up with and that recreation goes for 4 hours and thru the historical past of the sport, there’s lower than one house run scored in each recreation.”
“So if you examine baseball to what the joy and leisure bundle that T20 cricket brings, then it ought to be a fairly simple promote to the younger youngsters within the US. In order that’d be the angle that I would be actually pushing is simply the joy issue that comes with the sport. And I believe in the event that they try this, then I believe it is very sustainable.”
“There’s big alternatives for progress, even with the Indian funding in MLC and the way eager they’re to remain concerned and make it large and switch Washington Freedom right into a family title in world cricket. Then I believe there are some nice alternatives there.”
Ponting signed off by being excited in regards to the prospect of serving as both a mentor or coach for the Australian crew on the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. “It would be a fairly good job, I reckon, to be a mentor round a cricket crew within the Olympic Video games, to hang around. I used to be fortunate sufficient to play within the Commonwealth Video games and simply to be across the athletes within the villages and stuff was fairly a surreal setting to be in for a cricketer.”
“So, look, I would not say no, however I believe there will be lots of people placing their palms as much as try to be a mentor or a coach for an Aussie crew within the Olympic Video games. It would be particular to be part of, so who is aware of? We’ll preserve my fingers crossed and see what occurs.”
(Apart from the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV workers and is revealed from a syndicated feed.)
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