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Key England cricketers are likely to miss Test matches because of the upcoming Olympics in Los Angeles in 2028, where Cricket will mark its return on the grand stage.
Some of the top cricket-playing nations will take part in the Olympics. Ahead of the event, the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) and Cricket Scotland are actively formulating a new entity, named GB, with the aim of representing Great Britain.
Great Britain to take part in the LA2028 Olympics
The entity aims to form a team involving the top talents from England and Ireland. The team of GB is yet to be announced. As the squad is not declared yet, it is unknown which players from these two national cricket teams are going to represent the alliance in the 2028 Olympics.
It is believed that top cricketing talents from both of the nations will be part of the team. As the event will be held during the summer, it will make a direct collision with the ECB’s plans for the summer.
Throughout the summer, the English men's are scheduled to play multiple matches in the Whites. Because of multiple separate events, the England cricket team may have to shape two different teams, one for the bilateral series and another for the Olympics.
England is set to go through a packed schedule in the summer of 2028
Practically, the players who will be named for the Olympic team will not be in the position in any other series at the same time. The LA Games are scheduled to run from July 14 to 30. At the same time, the Three Lions are scheduled to face the West Indies for a Three-match Test series.
In June, they will play three Tests against South Africa before a white-ball series against India, and then a three-match Test series against the West Indies. If the ECB sends their top talents for the LA Games, then players like Harry Brook and Jofra Archer may not go on to play multiple Tests in the summer.
Key players are likely to skip multiple Tests
“That would mean the likes of Harry Brook, who could be England's Test captain by then, would travel to LA for the Olympics rather than play against the West Indies. Of the current squad, the likes of Jacob Bethell and Jofra Archer could also be affected,” according to The Telegraph report.
The report also mentioned that there is no concrete information regarding the GB team. As there is still plenty of time remaining, there could be a lot of equations on the board behind the scenes. In the two-year frame, even the top-flight players can be different as well.
“Given the selection process for Team GB is still unclear, and we do not know who England's best players in each format will be in two years, it cannot be said with absolute certainty that Test regulars will miss the West Indies matches. However, there appears to be a strong desire at the ECB to support the sport's return to the Olympics by making the best players available,” the report also mentioned.
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