ICC Chairman Jay Shah in Discussions with IOC on Cricket’s Olympic Inclusion

Jay Shah, the ICC Chairman, is currently having discussions to get cricket back in the Olympics. The game was a part of the Olympics back in 1900, marking more than a century since its last appearance. As the 2028 LA Olympics come closer, fans are eager to have cricket in the same.

Cricket might be getting some major changes, as the game is expected to return to the Olympics. Earlier, there was just news related to the same, speculating that the game could return. But now, it seems that there are high chances fans could watch their favourite teams  for the Olympic medal.

The ICC Chairman, Jay Shah, recently met the International Olympic Committee President, Kirsty Coventry. Images of their meeting have gone viral all over the internet, with fans speculating the game's return to the 2028 Olympics. Some reports also say that Jay Shah discussed with Coventry about the same.

1. Jay Shah Initiates Talks

Ever since Jay Shah took over as the Chairman of the ICC, he has made it clear to improve the game at a global stage. Moreover, he brought back the agenda of having cricket in the Olympics once again. This has made the fans a lot excited, as the next Olympic edition will be played in 2028 in Los Angeles.

Over the past few months, he has worked a lot to make cricket's integration with the Olympics possible. Meeting the new IOC President, Kirsty Coventry, was not the first and only move taken by him to allow the game's return to the Olympics. Earlier in January 2025, Jay Shah  with the IOC President, Thomas Bach.

This meeting took place at the Olympic House in Lausanne, Switzerland. Jay Shah later talked about the meeting and called it an important move on the road to cricket in the LA Olympics 2028. This meeting was more focused on the collaboration of ICC and IOC, and how they will be able to promote the sport in the Olympics once again.

Along with that, the ICC Chairman is also working to ensure long-term availability of the game in the Olympics. For this, he has also engaged with the organizers of the 2032 Brisbane Organizing Committee. This meeting reportedly took place in December 2024, which shows how much Jay Shah is to having cricket back in the Olympics.

Having cricket in the 2028 Olympics is confirmed, but Jay Shah wants it to be a huge success. With the game returning after 128 years, it will also provide global exposure to the same. Moreover, with cricket being associated with the Olympics, more and more teams will be eager to participate in the same.

2. 1900 Summer Olympics

As said earlier, Cricket will be coming back to the Olympics after a major gap of 128 years. Within this time, a number of developments have taken place in the game, and it has also been among the most popular sports right now. The last time cricket was a part of the Olympics was back in the 1900 Summer Olympics.

There were just two teams that competed in the same tournament: France and Great Britain. The other teams, which were expected to participate in the same, withdrew at the last minute. It was a two-day match as Great Britain ended up winning the same by a margin of 158 runs.

At that time, the game faced a major challenge with its format and the lack of participation from the other teams. Only two teams participated in the same, and even a single match went on for two days. Therefore, cricket was not able to continue in the Olympics after the 1900 edition.