Olympics director Niccolo Campriani highlights Virat Kohli's role in cricket's inclusion at LA28

Olympics director Niccolo Campriani expressed his fondness and high regard for the legendary Virat Kohli and explained his role in facilitating cricket's comeback at the multi-national event in 2028.

Cricket was played as a sport at the Olympics in 1900. Only one match was played in that edition between Great Britain and France and the former emerged victorious. After 128 years, the sport is set to make a return to the global event in Los Angeles in 2028.

Campriani credited former India skipper Kohli's influence as a massive factor in cricket's inclusion in the next Summer Games. The former emphasised that Kohli's global stature and fan following were important in boosting cricket's popularity, especially in the United States. The right-handed batter's monumental impact as a sporting icon played a crucial role in bringing the game of cricket back on the Olympic stage.

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Expressing his excitement about cricket's much-awaited comeback, Campriani called it the second-most popular sport in the world with an estimated 2.5 billion fans. He noted that including cricket in the Olympics will help in promoting the sport in the United States. The inclusion of cricket is expected to draw the American audience to the sport and enhance its popularity in the sports-loving nation.

Moreover, Campriani spoke about Kohli's sensational social media following. The Delhi batter has a whopping 314 million followers across his social media handles, making him the third-most followed athlete in the world. To put things into perspective, Kohli has more followers on social media than basketball legend LeBron James, rugby stalwart Tom Brady, and golf icon Tiger Woods combined.

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Kohli is currently 35 years old but is still one of the fittest players in world cricket. He was the Player of the Match in the T20 World Cup 2024 final in June as India lifted the trophy after 17 years. During the tournament, India played three matches in New York and received huge support from the fans. It will be interesting to see whether Kohli can survive the rigours of international cricket for the next four years and feature in the 2028 LA Olympics.