Cricket at the 2024 Paris Olympics is a possibility

Cricket at the Olympics has been sort of a distant dream for a long time now. But soon, the unexpectable may take place. France’s sports minister Laura Flessel has hinted that cricket might soon find a place at the Olympics. There is a high chance of cricket featuring in 2024 games in Paris if not 2020 in Tokyo.

India v Pakistan for the gold medal contest?

If the reports turn true then India will be potential favourites to bag a gold in the particular section. Flessel also said that the idea of 1.5 billion viewers watching the Olympics will be a giant step forward and she hoped that the gold medal contest could be between India and Pakistan just like the Champions Trophy finals in England. She believed that the Olympic will give a major boost to the sporting eco-system of France.

“There are new disciplines that are going to join the Olympic Games in 2024 and it is also true that cricket is developing in France. We are going to watch developments very closely. So why not?

“The dream is almost coming true,” said Flessel, who won five fencing medals before retiring after London 2012. “We still have to wait for ratification on 13 September in Lima but Paris 2024 has almost reached the finishing line. It is like a volcano bubbling over. We want the prestige of France to be shining. We want a very high level of performance, as London has done.”

According to Mumbai Mirror, Olympic participation will be one of the top agendas, going into the meeting between the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) and Committee of Administrators(COA) in Delhi on Wednesday. Pressure is on the BCCI to acknowledge the games and take an active step forward. The ICC will have to be backed by the members’ approval by May 2018 so that it can lobby with the IOC before the disciplines for 2024 and 2028 Games will be decided in early 2019.