Ricky Ponting says cricket at 2028 LA Olympics ‘a positive thing’
Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting says cricket at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics is “a positive thing” for the sport.
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PONTING SAYS CRICKET AT 2028 LA GAMES ‘A POSITIVE THING FOR OUR GAME’
Furthermore, Ponting says cricket at the 2028 LA Games brings “a positive thing for our game.”
“It can only be a positive thing for our game. I think it also gives cricket a chance to break into the grassroots level in the US,” the former Australia skipper said.
“How do we get the game back into the Olympics? And finally, it’s there,” he added as reported by ESPNcricinfo.
Moreover, cricket is making a return to the Games after 128 years, with the last time featured in 1900.
At the time, Great Britain and France were the only featured teams, with the former winning the gold.
“The thing about the Olympic Games is it’s not (about) the host nation. It’s about the audience that it opens up,” Ponting said.
CRICKET FACILITIES, INFRASTRUCTURE NEED TO IMPROVE IN 4 YEARS, SAYS EX-AUSSIE SKIPPER
Moreover, the three-time ODI World Cup winner cited the need for cricket facilities and infrastructure.
However, including cricket in 2028LA is a step in the right direction, he said.
“Facilities and infrastructure and those things are going to be key, and how many (participating) teams they actually decide on,” Ponting said.
“So qualification is going to be at s premium – how you actually qualify to get into the Olympic Games,” he added.
Incidentally, cricket in LA in 2028 will feature men’s and women’s teams.
“It just opens up completely different audiences to our game that’s seemingly growing on a daily basis anyway,” Ponting said.
CRICKET CAN USE BASEBALL’S FANBASE TO BOOST POPULARITY IN US, OLYMPICS
Furthermore, cricket can use baseball’s fanbase to boost its popularity not just in the US but in the Olympics, Ponting said.
Incidentally, cricket will be added to the 2028 Games, joining baseball-softball, flag football, lacrosse, and squash.
“And the way that I sort of try and compare the two is we’ve all been to games of Major League Baseball,” Ponting said.
“So when you compare baseball to what the excitement and entertainment package that T20 cricket brings, then it should be a reasonably easy sell to the young kids in the US,” he added.
Moreover, he cited India’s investment in Major League Cricket will go a long way in boosting the sport.
Ponting’s statement came after former India coach Rahul Dravid welcomed cricket’s return in the 2028 Games.
The former skipper hopes to play either a mentor or a coach for Australia’s cricket team in the 2028 Games.
“It’d be a pretty nice job, I reckon, to be a mentor around a cricket team in the Olympic Games, to hang out,” he said.
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