Virat Kohli's influence and popularity played a huge role in cricket's inclusion in LA Olympics 2028.
In 2023, the International Olympics Committee approved the addition of cricket to the Los Angeles Games of 2028, marking the sport’s first Olympics appearance since 1900.
Niccolo Campriani, president of the Los Angeles Local Organising Committee (LALOG), spoke extensively about cricket's expanding popularity in the United States, which just co-hosted the T20 World Cup 2024.
He also discussed how Virat Kohli's popularity influenced the Olympic committee's decision to include cricket. In May 2023, he became the first Indian to hit 250 million followers on Instagram. Worldwide, he is only behind football icons Cristiano Ronaldo (585 million and counting) and Lionel Messi (464 million) in terms of followers on Instagram.
"We all recognize the critical importance of a strong digital presence in order to keep the games relevant for the youth. And cricket is offering a unique platform to do so. Think [about] my friend here Virat. He's the third-most followed athlete in the world on social media with 314 million followers. That's more than LeBron James, Tom Brady, and Tiger Woods combined. This is the ultimate win-win for LA 28," Campriani said at an event.
Quoting a video of Campriani talking about Kohli’s influence in getting Cricket into the Olympics, Nathan Lyon also urged to include all abilities cricket in the Paralympics and tagged the ECB, BCCI, CA, and Virat Kohli in his post on X.
“And let’s add All Abilities cricket to the paralympics @ECB_cricket @CricketAus @BCCI @imVkohli @Vk18xCr7,” Lyon posted.