India IN, Pakistan OUT; Changes made to tournament before Asia Cup 2025

In a historic move for India and the entire world, cricket is officially set to return to the Olympic Games after a long wait of 128 years, and the excitement is electric among the fans and stakeholders across the globe. The Los Angeles Olympics 2028 will witness the grand return of cricket in the fast-paced T20 format.

It will be a six-team T20 event, featuring both men’s and women’s teams. Now, it has emerged that India, Australia, and the host country, the United States of America (USA), are confirmed to participate in the Los Angeles Olympics 2028.

India, Australia, USA confirmed for the Los Angeles Olympics 2028

Since the USA is hosting the 2028 Olympics, they automatically get a spot. That means only five spots are left for other countries, and until now, there was no clear system on how those teams would qualify for the historic return. But a recent report by The Guardian revealed that the teams will qualify through a regional system for the 2028 Olympics.

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As reported by The Guardian, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has decided that the participating teams will qualify through a regional system for the Los Angeles Olympics 2028 during its annual meeting held in Singapore.

This means that the top-ranked team from each region—Asia, Europe, Oceania, and Africa—will get a place at the 2028 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) prefers this regional system because it gives teams from all around the world a chance to take part.

Pakistan and New Zealand out of the race for the Olympics 2028

If they go ahead with this system, then India will qualify from Asia, South Africa from Africa, and Australia from Oceania. From Europe, England will qualify, but in the Olympics, they will play as Great Britain. This means the team will be made up of players from England, Scotland, and Northern Ireland, as per Olympic rules, for the global event.

However, one qualification spot will remain, and the officials have not yet announced how it will be filled. But this system has already caused major disappointment in some countries, especially Pakistan and New Zealand, as they are likely to miss out under the current format.

Both Pakistan and New Zealand are not happy with the decision, but even though it has not been officially approved yet, a change seems unlikely for them to get a ticket to the 2028 Olympics. There’s also some uncertainty with USA Cricket, but India, Australia, and the USA all but confirmed to take part in the Olympics.

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If the USA fails, a Caribbean country might get the LA 2028 spot

If the problems with how USA Cricket is being run are not resolved soon, there is a chance that a team from the Caribbean could be picked instead. However, this will also bring up another issue. The West Indies, which is a group of Caribbean nations that play together in cricket, cannot participate in the Olympics as a single team.

So, one of the Caribbean Island countries might be selected to represent the region in the global event. Still, they will not be able to claim the North American regional spot because the USA already has that spot as the host nation. However, the final line-up is yet to be confirmed.