Cricket in Olympics? Sangakkara feels a lot needs to be done
Kumar Sangakkara says cricket has to be a format that fits the sweet spot of timing and time limit and really entertains and engages an Olympic viewer.
Published : Jan 11, 2021 20:09 IST
Over the last few years, there have been debates on whether cricket could make it to the Olympics with the T10 or T20 formats.
While stars like Chris Gayle have batted for the inclusion of the T10 in the Games, former Sri Lanka captain Kumar Sangakkara believes that a lot of work needs to be done to include cricket in the Games.
“There is a lot of work to be done to get cricket into the Olympics. All the boards will have to vie, the ICC will have to have a good, solid push. It has to be a format that fits the sweet spot of timing and time limit and really entertains and engages an Olympic viewer,” Sangakkara, who is the mentor of the Abu Dhabi franchise in the T10 League, said on Monday.
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“You are not just talking about the traditional cricket spectator, but also opening up completely new fan markets, so conversations are happening. It’s been many years since the push for cricket in the Olympics has started - it was in the Commonwealth Games for a couple of editions. This could be another format that could be pushed to see if it’s the T10 or T20 fits into the Olympics,” Sangakkara, who is also the head of the MCC, said.
Asked whether cricket can make it to the 2028 Olympics, Sangakkara said: “We will have to wait and see. I can’t really give you a time on when it will happen…”