India’s women’s cricket team has officially secured its place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games after the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) on Monday confirmed the qualification pathway for cricket’s return to the Olympics.
India qualified by finishing as Asia’s highest-ranked eligible team at the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. Australia, Great Britain (represented by England) and South Africa also booked their places as the top eligible teams from Oceania, Europe and Africa respectively. Only one team from each continent could qualify through this route.
Cricket will return to the Olympic Games for the first time since 1900, with six teams competing in both the men’s and women’s T20 events at Los Angeles.
For the men’s competition, five teams will qualify through ICC events and T20I rankings, while the sixth and final spot will be decided through the inaugural eight-team ICC Olympics Qualifier in 2027.
Hosts USA will receive an automatic place in both the men’s and women’s events if they feature in the top 15 of the ICC T20I rankings between June 30 and December 31, 2026. If the USA women fail to meet that criterion, the berth will pass to the highest-ranked non-qualified team in the ICC Women’s T20I rankings on March 1, 2027. In the men’s event, the place will instead go to the next highest-ranked eligible team not already qualified at the end of 2026.
The 2027 ICC Olympics Qualifier will feature eight teams in both the men’s and women’s competitions. Seven teams will qualify based on the ICC T20I rankings after excluding nations that have already secured Olympic spots, with the winner earning the final ticket to Los Angeles.
The ICC has also created a separate qualification route for the Caribbean. Since the West Indies is not recognised as a single National Olympic Committee by the IOC, a regional qualifying tournament will decide which Caribbean nation advances to the ICC Olympics Qualifier if the West Indies finishes among the top eight non-qualified teams in the rankings.
Each nation will field a 15-member squad. The six teams will be split into two groups of three before playing cross-group matches. The top two teams will contest the gold medal match, while the third- and fourth-placed teams will battle for bronze.
Welcoming the announcement, ICC Chairman Jay Shah said the qualification pathway gives teams a clear opportunity to reach the Olympic stage.
“Cricket’s return to the Olympic Games is a landmark moment for our sport and a powerful opportunity to showcase the very best of cricket to the world. The confirmation of this qualification pathway is an important step towards Los Angeles 2028 and gives Members across the world a clear and exciting route to the Olympic stage.”
A total of 28 matches across the men’s and women’s tournaments will be played at a purpose-built cricket venue in Pomona, with the ICC expected to announce the dates and venue for the 2027 Olympics Qualifier at a later stage.