The cash register rings: Cricket's impact on Olympic branding

On Monday, boffins who decide what's game and what's not at the Olympics decided that one of five new sports at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics will be - IPL-style fanfare - cricket. Last played at the Olympics in Paris in 1900, when only France and Britain competed (the Brits unsurprisingly won), it was sent to pasture in the cricket field.

That is until 2028, when instead of playing over two days as it was in 1900, the T20 format will be on display and play in LA. (Rhyming words should also be an Olympic sport!) There will be six teams, with the US likely to get a direct berth because they are the hosts.

The Olympics is a solid brand. And IOC knows that a sport that's top of the mind for 1.3 billion-and-counting people of one cricketing nation, plus another billion here and there from the subcontinent and here and there, also means top drawer in the cash register. So, Olympian cricket it shall be.


But while this puts India on top of the medal grab, there is a flip side to this coin. With Olympic medals at stake, countries driven to extremes to win at the Olympics will also be keen to be cricket powers. While time abhi bahut baaki hai, one can - and should - consider the very high possibility of China getting seriously crickety.

As in, just to get an Olympic cricket gold. So, don't be surprised if the 2060 Games cricket final is an India vs China.