In the end, cricket’s inclusion in the Olympic Movement seemed inevitable. A journey that is to ultimately culminate in Mumbai, the unofficial global epicentre of the game, could not have ended in a failure for cricket’s governing bodies. Los Angeles appeared destined to embrace cricket.
The anticipated Olympic berth was the result of a well-executed campaign orchestrated by the International Cricket Council (ICC), with unexpected support from influential figures. Jay Shah, the secretary of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), for instance, provided the initial momentum for this movement by engineering Indian support for the campaign. Then a few Americans came in. Finally, there was Shahrukh Khan too.
Casey Wasserman, chairman of LA28, John Harper, the Chief Operating Officer of LA28, and Eric Garcetti, the US Ambassador to India, played pivotal roles. Garcetti, incidentally, served as the mayor of Los Angeles till recently.
Shahrukh Khan’s contribution may be incidental but no less significant. His Los Angeles-based cricket franchise, LA Knight Riders, inspired the LA28 authorities for its global footprints and expanding fanbase. More significantly, the ICC roped in the services of a KKR executive during their meeting with the LA28 delegation in July.
Before all that a significant meeting took place between Garcetti and Khan at Mannat, the Bollywood superstar’s Mumbai residence. During this meeting, the US Ambassador provided references to LA28 authorities, including that of Wasserman’s. The meeting between Wasserman and KKR CEO Venky Mysore in Los Angeles served as a precursor to the ICC’s talks with LA authorities, where they discussed how the second most popular sport in the world could attract new audiences to the Olympic movement.
“I mean, Shah Rukh Khan has a cricket team in my hometown! I think we’re only going to see enthusiasm grow as the world’s greatest cricketers come face-to-face on a global stage. This also shows the power of sports to bring people together – transcending linguistic and cultural differences and connecting us all in an accessible and inclusive way,” the US Ambassador to India told Cricbuzz.
“The International Olympics Committee (IOC) has to ratify our decision to add cricket and four other sports, but I think this would be a tremendous opportunity for cricket and for the world. It’s a recognition of what we already see – that cricket is a global sport. The United States hosted the first international cricket match back in 1844, and we’re just now seeing cricket gaining a huge fan base back home,” he added.
Garcetti is a huge cricket fan and he is well aware of the millions of fans the game has, mainly in India and he strove hard for this inclusion. “This is something I’ve worked hard on for a number of years. I was Mayor of Los Angeles when the city won the honour of holding the Olympic Games in 2028. And hosting the Olympics means you have the opportunity to recommend new sports – or old sports – for inclusion into the games.
“Now, cricket is a huge sport, with hundreds of millions of fans across the world. In cricket, a century is normally a great thing, but cricket hasn’t been in the Olympic games in over a century. I’ve long been a huge cricket fan, and I spoke about this a few years ago with LA28 chair Casey Wasserman. We both decided it was time for cricket to be back in the Olympics and moved to bring men’s and women’s cricket into the Los Angeles games. I never dreamed I’d be the Ambassador in India – the cricket capital of the world – when LA28 announced its recommendation,” the US diplomat, who is known to be very close to US President Joe Biden, further told this website.
Wasserman shared the global view of Garcetti and he also has first-hand knowledge of the game, having been to an IPL match long before it became a global phenomenon. He also had been to the Lord’s a few times. “I have long believed that our opportunity in Los Angeles is create the most compelling Games not just for us, but for the world.
“Cricket has been on our list of sports to consider since we began the process of looking at sports some 18 months ago. I attended my first IPL match in 2010, I have been to Lords quite a few times, and the passion of the sport globally is undeniable, and the opportunity to excite nations with the opportunity to win an Olympic medal in the sport that is so ingrained in their communities and culture is powerful,” he explained
The LA28 boss, one of the most influential figures in US Sport, said he felt honoured to have proposed cricket. “I feel honoured and proud to propose and host cricket in the Olympic Games for the first time in 2028.”
Wasserman also confirmed meeting KKR CEO in July but strove to downplay it saying his engagement with them was to know more about the franchise leadership. “The meeting in LA with KKR set up by Ambassador Garcetti had nothing to do with the process or even the Olympics, just the opportunity to meet the KKR leadership while they were in Los Angeles during the MLC event in Dallas. As you know, KKR has acquired the rights to Los Angeles for the new league,” the American sports and entertainment executive said.
After Wasserman’s meeting with Mysore, the ICC team held a meeting with the LA28 delegation, which included John Harper, the Chief Operating Officer of LA28. The ICC team was represented by Chris Tetley, the Head of Events, and Clair Furlong, the Head of Marketing and Communication. Mysore was also present at this meeting.
The ICC officials also admit taking the help of KKR franchise. “KKR have been huge supporters of our bid for Olympic inclusion. Of course, there is an LA Knight Riders franchise in the MLC, so it makes perfect sense as we look to grow the sport in the USA. We’ve talked with them a lot throughout and they’ve been fantastic supporters,” an ICC official said.
LA Knight Riders may even provide a venue for cricket during the Games as they are set to construct a Knight Riders Arena in Los Angeles very soon. It was a point of discussion. Among the many other points deliberated during the meetings, it was highlighted that the inclusion of cricket in LA28 would yield significant commercial benefits and, more importantly, substantially expand the global fan base of Olympic sports.
For instance, the Super Bowl, the final of the NFL, and the United States’ premier sporting event, attracts approximately 130 million viewers. The addition of cricket to the LA Games is expected to attract a minimum of 200 million new fans, potentially reaching a billion fans globally. If a high-stakes match, such as an India-Pakistan clash for the gold medal, were to take place, it could potentially cause television stations and streaming platforms to experience significant demand.
With LA28’s preliminary proposal to include cricket in the Games, the IOC’s approval is merely a formality, which is expected to be granted during the IOC session in Mumbai on Monday. Wasserman and Garcetti are expected to attend, along with the Ambanis, who are hosting the IOC’s global delegation. It wouldn’t be surprising if Shah Rukh Khan also extended an invitation to the event.
