The future of T10 looks good, it can be used to take cricket at the Olympics: Faf du Plessis

Faf du Plessis feels cricket’s shortest format T10 is a perfect fit to take the sport at the Olympics. The only instance of cricket being played at the Olympics dates back to Paris Olympics in 1900, where Great Britain defeated France in the only match.

The voices of taking cricket to the Olympics have been on a rise, with ICC eyeing the 2028 games in Los Angeles. Meanwhile, du Plessis, who will soon ply his trade for Bangla Tigers in the Abu Dhabi T10 League stated that having played all three conventional formats – Tests, ODIs and T20Is – of the game, he is still “attracted to the T20 format”.

“I think players like myself will keep looking at tournaments like this. The future of T10 is looking good,” du Plessis was quoted as saying by mirror.co.uk. “It’s a format that can be used in the Olympics. The quick nature of T10 also makes it attractive to the fans. I think T10 is only going to get better and better.”

ICC chair Greg Barclay believes the sport would be “a great addition to the Olympic Games”. He said: “We have more than a billion fans globally and almost 90 per cent of them want to see cricket at the Olympics.

“Our sport is united behind this bid, and we see the Olympics as a part of cricket’s long-term future. We have more than a billion fans globally and almost 90 percent of them want to see cricket at the Olympics.

“Clearly cricket has a strong and passionate fanbase, particularly in South Asia where 92% of our fans come from, whilst there are also 30 million cricket fans in the USA. The opportunity for those fans to see their heroes competing for an Olympic medal is tantalising.”

“We believe cricket would be a great addition to the Olympic Games, but we know it won’t be easy to secure our inclusion as there are so many other great sports out there wanting to do the same.

“But we feel now is the time to put our best foot forward and show what a great partnership cricket and the Olympics are.”