The International Cricket Council has today confirmed its intention to bid for cricket’s inclusion in the Olympic Games, a media release said.

The ICC has convened a Working Group to lead the bid on behalf of the sport which will be focused on cricket becoming part of the Olympic family for LA 2028, Brisbane 2032 and beyond.

“Firstly on behalf of everyone at the ICC, I would like to congratulate the IOC, Tokyo 2020 and the people of Japan for staging such an incredible Games in such difficult circumstances. It truly was fantastic to watch and captured the imagination of the world and we would love for cricket to be a part of future Games.

“Our sport is united behind this bid, and we see the Olympics as a part of cricket’s long-term future. We have more than a billion fans globally and almost 90% of them want to see cricket at the Olympics,” he said.

“Clearly cricket has a strong and passionate fanbase, particularly in South Asia where 92% of our fans come from, whilst there are also 30 million cricket fans in the USA. The opportunity for those fans to see their heroes competing for an Olympic medal is tantalising.

“We believe cricket would be a great addition to the Olympic Games, but we know it won’t be easy to secure our inclusion as there are so many other great sports out there wanting to do the same. But we feel now is the time to put our best foot forward and show what a great partnership cricket and the Olympics could be,” he added.

England and Wales Cricket Board Chair Ian Watmore will Chair the ICC Olympic Working Group and he will be joined by the ICC Independent Director Indra Nooyi, Chair of Zimbabwe Cricket Tavengwa Mukuhlani, ICC Associate Member Director and Vice President of the Asian Cricket Council Mahinda Vallipuram and Chair of USA Cricket Paraag Marathe who believes the time is ripe for an Olympic bid.

Women’s cricket will be a part of the 2022 Commonwealth Games and it could serve as an important boost for cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics. Cricket was part of the Games way back in the 1900 edition when only two teams – Great Britain and France were in action after Netherlands and Belgium pulled out. The match which was won by Great Britain was recognised as an Olympic contest 12 years later and both the teams were awarded their medals.