By Shantanu Guha Ray in New Delhi 

“Inclusion of cricket in the Olympics will create deeper engagement for the Olympic Movement,” remarked Nita M. Ambani at a recent event in Mumbai, India’s financial capital.

The comment from Ms Ambani, a member of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and wife of Mukesh D Ambani – the richest Asian and chairman of Reliance Industries – was as significant as the event itself.

Sports cognoscenti said cricket’s return to the 2028 Los Angeles Summer Olympics marked India’s slow, yet steady, ascent in the world sports calendar. India has never been so important in the global sports index. 

The IOC session is being held in India for only the 2nd time in history, returning to the country after 40 years. The historic decision to include cricket in the Olympics came at one of the epicentres of the sport – India. 

She said today more than ever, the world needs to reunite in fraternity and solidarity. “This cannot happen on battlefields. It can only happen on sports fields,” said Ms Ambani. 

Among those present in the audience was Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and IOC President Thomas Bach.

Speaking after cricket was officially confirmed as an Olympic sport at the ongoing 141st IOC Session, Ms Ambani said, “As an IOC member, a proud Indian, and an ardent cricket fan, I am delighted that IOC members have voted to include Cricket as an Olympic Sport in the LA Summer Olympics 2028!”. 

Cricket’s inclusion in the Summer Games happened because of some solid push from the Ambanis, who own Reliance Industries, a Fortune500 company and India’s largest private sector corporation. And more importantly, Reliance owns five top cricket teams across the world and is seeped into promoting other games like football.

Cricket was also included as an Olympic sport at the 1900 Paris Games where Great Britain defeated the hosts to win the gold. This was the only appearance of cricket at the Summer Olympics. Test cricket is played between 12 countries though the Dubai-based International Cricket Council (ICC) has 104 countries as members. 

Cricket has never been among discussions at the IOC, nor was it included as one of the games for the Summer Olympics. Interestingly, the first international cricket match was played between Canada and the United States for two days starting September 24, 1844. And then, the first accredited test match was played in 1877 between Australia and England.

Cricket may not be as popular as football across the world but there is tough competition, high revenue and high viewership whenever India participates in global cricket tournaments. But when it comes to cricket, there is no country in the world which is as financially sound as India in terms of supporting cricket. So, the push for cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics had to come from India’s powerful Reliance. 

The London-based Financial Times recently reported that Disney will offer free mobile phone streaming of the upcoming Cricket World Cup in India as the US entertainment group competes for streaming supremacy with Indian billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s JioCinema. 

The ICC World Cup cricket is currently on in India and will run until November 19, 2023, attracting hundreds of millions of viewers. Media Partners Asia, a consultancy, estimates that advertisers will spend around $300mn on the World Cup, compared with about $480mn at this year’s Indian Premier League.

FT claimed Disney, which exclusively holds both the World Cup broadcast and digital rights, hopes the contest will give it some momentum in India after losing the 2023-2027 online rights to stream IPL) cricket tournament to JioCinema. 

JioCinema, a joint venture with investors including Reliance Industries and James Murdoch, streamed the IPL earlier this year for free, poaching viewers and advertisers from Disney and sparking a price battle. 

The London-based financial daily said Disney’s decision to make the World Cup free on mobile highlights the challenges attracting a mass audience in a country where purchasing power is far lower than in western markets. 

For the last two years, the International Cricket Council has been working extensively with the IOC for inclusion at the Los Angeles Games. “To have the opportunity to showcase our great sport at the LA28 Games and hopefully many Olympic Games to come, will be great for players and fans alike,” ICC chairman Greg Barclay said.

The Olympics, which has an estimated audience of more than 3 billion, will provide an opportunity for cricket to “engage new audiences and further boost the sport’s reach across the world, opening the door to a new generation of cricket enthusiasts,” the ICC hoped.

Cricket’s return to the Summer Olympics programme for the Los Angeles Games, therefore, drew an enthusiastic response from across the globe. Cricket was one of five sports added to the LA Games by the International Olympic Committee. Flag football, baseball-softball, lacrosse and squash were also included.

“After a wait of more than a century, our beloved sport is back on the Olympic stage,” former India captain Sachin Tendulkar wrote on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter. “This marks the dawn of a new era for cricket as it will be a golden opportunity to foster inclusivity and showcase new talent from emerging cricketing nations. A start of something truly special!”

It is likely to be retained for the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, which will be held in cricket-loving Australia.

“Players will get the chance to compete for an Olympic gold medal and be part of the games, which will be so special,” said Mithali Raj, a former India women’s cricket team captain. 

Another Indian cricket great, Sunil Gavaskar, was also excited for the players to mingle with athletes from around the world.

“That is totally fantastic, isn’t it?” Gavaskar said while commentating during Australia’s cricket match against Sri Lanka. “What an experience it’ll be for every team, and particularly the Indian team, to be able to see what the Olympic village is like, to be able to spend time with other athletes, other champions.”

Cricket at the Los Angeles Olympics will be a six-team event for both men and women and will be played in the Twenty20 format, which will be “appealing to the younger crowd”.