The different sports activities preventing for a spot within the Olympics are flag soccer, karate, kickboxing, baseball-softball, lacrosse, breakdancing, squash and motorsport.

But Michael Payne, a former advertising and broadcast rights director of the IOC who’s accustomed to its inside workings after working there for practically 20 years, believes that cricket stays a favorite to get the nod.

Payne cited the “current cricket boom” within the US, the place a few of the greatest tech companies have invested within the Major League. Adding to cricket’s benefit, Payne stated, is that the 2032 Olympics will likely be held in Australia, the place cricket is a significant sport.

“In 2032, the Games are in Brisbane, Australia… there will be a local interest in cricket… And also from a business perspective, cricket is booming in America. The Los Angeles (organising) committee is headed by a gentleman called Casey Wasserman, who is a very astute business leader and owns one of the world’s largest sports media groups. He could see the potential in cricket,” he stated.

And then, Payne added, there’s the IOC’s bigger curiosity in wooing the cricket-loving Indian and South Asian fan base, in addition to tapping into the subcontinent’s huge market.

As per stories, Indian broadcasters Viacom 18 paid roughly $31 million to bag the rights to indicate the Olympics, together with the Paris Games. In distinction, American community NBC paid $7.65 billion for a deal that runs from 2021 to 2032.

“If you look at all the regions around the world, the one area where frankly the Olympic Games is not nearly as strong as elsewhere in the subcontinent, you know, India, Pakistan. And if you were to bring cricket onto the Olympic programme, it would have a major impact,” Payne stated.

India can be bidding to host the Olympics in 2036, with the choice course of nonetheless within the nascent levels.

Cricket was final performed on the Olympics in 1900, the place a one-off gold-medal match was performed between two groups representing Britain and France. It has remained out ever since, largely as a result of IOC’s inflexible coverage on together with one sport provided that one other was dropped, and the International Cricket Council’s (ICC’s) indifference to that.

That has, of late, modified with Bach making the sports activities choice coverage versatile and the ICC lately placing wheels into movement to get cricket again to the Olympics.

The ICC has pitched the T20 format with 5 groups in every gender more likely to characteristic in LA. The stadium at the moment being constructed by IPL heavyweights Kolkata Knight Riders, one of many founding traders within the Major League, is anticipated to host the matches.

© The Indian Express (P) Ltd