Cricket, both men's and women's, has been included in Los Angeles Olympics in 2028.
Rahul Dravid, who recently guided India to the T20 World Cup 2024 title, in Paris, the capital of France hosting the 2024 Olympic Games. He was part of a panel discussion on a theme titled 'Cricket at the Olympics: Dawn of a New Era'.
"I've already heard a few conversations in the dressing room. People are talking about the 2026 T20 World Cup, there is an ODI World Cup in 2027, and you hear people saying there is the Olympics in 2028. People are going to want to win that gold medal, stand on the podium, and be a part of the Games Village, a great sporting event, and interact with so many athletes,” Dravid said during the event.
"As you get closer, I have no doubt that teams will be preparing and checking out facilities. They will take this seriously, and players will fight tooth and nail to be out there," he added.
The great batsman had ICC CEO Geoff Allardice for the company during the discussion at India House here.
"You grow up watching the Olympics, seeing Carl Lewis winning the gold medal, watching the great athletes perform. You always want to be part of great events like this. The environment, the energy -- it's a dream come true.
The dream for me is to have a fantastic cricket tournament, hopefully Indian men and women winning the gold which would be nice. But more than that I wish for everyone here... So many Indian fans would be able to come here to LA and support cricket, and show the rest of the world how big and great a sport cricket is," Dravid said while hoping India to win gold in both men’s and women’s cricket events in 2028.
"Unfortunately, I won't be able to play, but I will make every effort to be in LA in some capacity or another. If not anything else, I will try to get a media job," joked Dravid.
The men's and women's cricket competitions will run concurrently at the LA Olympics.
(PTI inputs)