By Amlan Chakraborty
NEW DELHI, June 29 (Reuters) – Reigning world champions India, Britain, South Africa and hosts United States are set to feature in the men’s Twenty20 competition when cricket returns to the Olympics at the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, according to a qualification pathway approved by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
One team from each of the five continents will be picked based on the International Cricket Council (ICC) rankings at a cut-off date on December 31, 2026, according to a note distributed among the National Olympic Committees and the international federations.
Australia and New Zealand will vie for the one spot from Oceania, while the US will carry the flag for the Americas provided it does not slip out of top 15 in the ICC rankings.
Since the IOC does not recognise West Indies as an entity, a separate Caribbean regional qualifier will determine which country represents that region. They will then join seven other teams – the highest-ranked sides not already qualified – in a global qualifier with the winner completing the six-team competition at Los Angeles.
England’s ranking has been used to pick Britain.
The women’s competition will also feature six teams. Australia, Britain, South Africa and India have secured spots by virtue of being the four best-performing continental teams in the ongoing World Cup. The US has been excluded because neither it, nor any team from the Americas, features in the ICC’s top 15.
After the Champions Trophy next year, the fifth spot will be awarded to the highest-ranked T20 team outside the four who have already qualified.
As in the men’s pathway, the Caribbean winner will enter an eight-team global qualifier, with the winner claiming the final spot for LA 2028.
(Reporting by Amlan Chakraborty in New Delhi; Editing by Toby Chopra)
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