Reports: USA might host T20 World Cup 2024 as ICC eye LA Olympics

In what can be called a major development, USA is likely to host the 2024 edition of the T20 World Cup. This could serve as a launchpad in the ICC’s (The International Cricket Council) bid for cricket’s inclusion in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. It has been a while since the apex body has been trying to induct cricket in the multi-sport event.

Owing to the same, the gala T20 tournament might take place in the United States of America in 2024. The ICC is all but likely to award a joint bid to USA Cricket and Cricket West Indies to host the showpiece event. If these developments turn out to be true, the 2024 T20 World Cup would be the first ICC tournament not hosted by India, England or Australia since the 2014 T20 World Cup in Bangladesh.

ICC looking to expand cricket

As per a report in Sydney Morning Herald, a “decision on venues for ICC events in the next cycle was imminent, and that an outward, global focus would mean they were more widely distributed than in the recent past.” It has been a long time since ICC has been looking to give hosting opportunities to emerging cricket nations in order to promote the game.

After all, the same would earn them a place in the Olympics. It also needs to be noted that the apex body is planning to expand the upcoming competition. Unlike the 2021 and 2016 editions – which saw 16 teams and 45 matches in action – the 2024 event would see 20 teams battling it out across 55 games including semi-finals and final.

With ICC considering an associate nation for a global event, their chances of qualifying for the Olympics would be enhanced. “In addition to marking a significant move away from those years, the choice of the US to help host the 2024 tournament would also serve as a launchpad for cricket’s long-awaited inclusion in the Olympic Games, starting with LA in 2028 and following up with Brisbane in 2032,” claimed the report in the Australian daily.

Meanwhile, the 2021 edition of the tournament did take in UAE and Oman. However, the hosting rights were still with the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI).