ICC to include women's cricket in 2022 Commonwealth Games

The International Cricket Council (ICC) will apply for the inclusion of women’s cricket at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Durban, South Africa, the governing body has said.

After a presentation from the Commonwealth Games Federation, the ICC board agreed to apply for the women’s competition at the Durban games. ICC chairman Shashank Manohar in a statement said, “It will enhance the profile of the sport and create additional exposure and experiences for female cricketers,”

South Africa was the champions when the men’s event took place at the 1998 Commonwealth Games in Malaysia. This was the only time cricket was included in the program. The Asian Games remains the largest multi-sports event which features cricket too. In the last two editions of the Asian games, cricket teams of both men and women were included.

ICC has also been trying to add cricket to the Olympics. “There will be further discussions on cricket’s potential participation in the Olympic Games following further meetings with the International Olympic Committee (IOC) later in the year,” the governing body said.

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Earlier, the Chief External Affairs Officer at the US Olympic Committee, Patrick Sandusky, had told ESPNcricinfo that “all sports should want to be in the Olympics” and the shortest format of the cricket would fit for the 17-day Olympic schedule.

President of the Italian board Simone Gambino had earlier said that cricket would be included in the 2024 Olympics should Rome win the bid to host the Games.