‘They are serious about winning gold’ – Steve Waugh on China’s LA 2028 Olympics hopes

The announcement of cricket being introduced in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics has excited cricket fans all over the world, especially in the Indian subcontinent, where they will be giving all their support to their team in the upcoming event, which is three years away.

Experts and former cricketers have already named their favourites for the Olympic cricket tournament. While some have picked either India or Australia as the favourites, former Australia captain and two-time World Cup winner Steve Waugh has surprisingly backed the Chinese team. According to the legend, the team is serious about winning the gold medal in the sport, as they have already started building a team for the event.

“As soon as cricket's inclusion in the Olympics was announced, China started building a team. They are serious about winning gold. T20 is massive now. It's worth billions of dollars and growing every day. Test cricket will survive, but T20 will dominate. Players will soon be contracted mainly to franchises. Test matches might even need special permissions," Waugh said as quoted by India Today.

Plans for cricket in LA 2028

This will be a long-awaited return for the game of cricket. The last time cricket was played in the Summer Olympics was in 1900, exactly 128 years ago. It will be interesting to see what this sport has in store for the fans, with a new plan to globalise the game.

Six teams will compete in both the men’s and women’s events, with each team featuring 15 players. The tournament will be played in the T20 format, marking the return of cricket to the United States after last season’s T20 World Cup in 2024.