Pakistan-India showdown not assured at LA 2028 Olympics

Cricket’s long-awaited Olympic comeback at Los Angeles 2028 won’t ensure a marquee Pakistan–India matchup, with the International Cricket Council (ICC) nearing completion of a regional qualifying system to decide six participating teams, international media reported Saturday.

The proposed pathway, discussed at the ICC Board meeting in Dubai on Friday, would send the top-ranked team from each continent straight to the Games. 

Under that formula, India is expected to secure Asia’s berth, while Australia (Oceania), South Africa (Africa) and Great Britain (Europe) would also qualify automatically.

However, it remained unclear whether the United States of America (USA) will clinch the fifth spot on the virtue of being the host nation, as the West Indies are also in contention from the Americas.

Since the formula would deprive key cricketing nations – Pakistan, New Zealand, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh – of direct qualification, it was proposed that the sixth team should be determined through a global qualifier, the details for which are expected to be announced soon.

"There have been discussions around the participation of teams, and it has been decided that the six teams will come through the top-ranked team from each region/continent, while the sixth comes from the global qualifier. The details will be shared by the ICC in due course, but the roadmap has more or less been frozen," said a veteran administrator who was part of the meeting in Dubai.

For the unversed, the men’s and women’s cricket tournaments at LA 2028 will be played in the T20 format.

The ICC has already confirmed that both competitions will run from July 12 to July 29, 2028, with the women’s medal match scheduled for July 20 and the men’s final on July 29.

Cricket will make its return to the Olympic stage after 128 years. The sport’s only previous appearance was at the 1900 Paris Games, where Great Britain defeated France in a one-off match to claim gold.