ICC chair Jay Shah meets IOC prez to discuss cricket’s Olympic return at LA28

International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Jay Shah met International Olympic Committee (IOC) president Kirsty Coventry in Switzerland during an IOC meeting to discuss cricket’s much-anticipated return to the Olympic Games at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Cricket, which last featured at the Paris 1900 Olympics, will make its comeback after 128 years at LA28, marking only the second time the sport will appear in the Summer Games.

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Sharing details of the meeting on social media, Shah wrote, “It was a pleasure to meet with IOC President Kirsty Coventry to continue our ongoing discussions on the road to @LA28 and cricket’s return to the Olympic Games. We reflected on the progress made so far and the significant role cricket can play in the growth of the Olympic movement.”

Shah has played a pivotal role in driving cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Olympics. Earlier this year, he attended the IOC presidential elections in Greece, where Coventry made history by becoming the first woman and the first African to be elected as IOC president.

At LA28, cricket will be contested in the T20 format, featuring six teams each in both men’s and women’s competitions. Each event will have 90 athlete quotas, enabling nations to field 15-member squads. The women’s T20 event will run from July 12 to 20, while the men’s event will take place from July 20 to 29, culminating with medal matches on July 20 (women’s) and July 29 (men’s). All matches will be played at the Fairgrounds in Pomona, located around 50 kilometres from downtown Los Angeles.

Earlier in January, Shah had also met former IOC president Thomas Bach and senior officials during an LA28 International Federations seminar at the Olympic House in Lausanne. That meeting focused on strengthening collaboration between the ICC and IOC in preparation for cricket’s landmark return to the Olympic stage.