Why is cricket not played at the Olympics?
Cricket was once an Olympic sport. The emphasis has to be put on the word “once” because:
It was only included in one Olympic Games (back in 1900) and
Only one match was played because the competition consisted of only two teams (England and France) - meaning that the English team of 1900 won the Olympic gold after having played and won only a single match and the French team (having lost the only match that they played), still walked away with a silver medal - not bad for a 100% loss rate!
Saying that there have been more recent efforts to bring it back as an Olympic sport, especially following the growing interest and success in the twenty20 format.
It really began mid-2017, when the CEO of the ICC has officially gone on the record stating that it’s time for cricket to return to the Olympics and unlike previously, he was faced with considerably less opposition from the English and Indian Cricket Boards (the most powerful and historically most opposed to the idea of cricket returning to the Olympics).
Then in 2018, things continued to heat up even further:
First, the governing International Cricket Council confirmed that most of its members backed the inclusion of the 20-overs format in the Olympic Games.
Then for the first time ever, the ICC CEO put a date on our expectations when he mentioned the 2028 Olympic Games as a possibility.
Finally, former cricket heavyweights (Sri Lankan player Kumar Sangakkara and West Indies legend Brian Lara) both voiced their opinions, and they were heavily in favor of it happening. Lara in fact believed it could happen as early as the 2024 Games whilst Sangakkara was less optimistic about the possibility of participating in the 2024 Games but in no uncertain terms stated that crickets inclusion in the 2028 Olympic Games is a very real possibility.
So in conclusion, I firmly believe that the tide is turning, and more and more voices will join the chorus in the coming months and years.
For cricket to be included in the Olympic Games is no longer an “if” and much rather a “when”, and when that fantastic day arrives (and it will), I suspect it will most likely:
be in the shortest and most exciting form of the game (I.e. twenty20) - much like Rugby has been introduced to the Olympics (in the shorter 7’s format instead of the standard 15 man teams);
include both men’s and women’s teams (due to both equality considerations and the increasing popularity of women’s cricket)