Need to determine strategy for cricket participation in Olympics, says ICC Chief

Cricket is undoubtedly the most popular sport in India. However, it remains to be one of those very few games that does not feature in the Olympics. The Olympics is often regarded as the paramount summit of sporting events. Over the years, there have been many debates regarding the inclusion of cricket in the global event.

In a recent post, the International Cricket Council (ICC) Chief Executive David Richardson wrote about the same. He noted that during the first half of 2017, there will be thorough discussions regarding the stance of ICC for working towards the inclusion of cricket in Olympics.

“We also need to determine cricket’s strategy in respect of participation in the Olympic Games. Is it something we will continue to explore in the first half of 2017 and if our members agree they would like to pursue it, then that’s when the real work for Olympic inclusion begins,” stated David Richardson.

Another key note of his post was regarding the usage of Decision Review System. Richardson exclaimed his happiness over the immense success of the DRS. He pointed out that the use of DRS has helped the umpires to get 98.5 per cent correct decisions. The previous stat indicated a 94 per cent figure.

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“I am very proud of the Emirates Elite Panel of Match Officials and our targets for correct decision making this year currently stands at 94 percent rising to 98.5 percent after DRS,” the ICC chief wrote.

Talking about the integrity of the sport, he mentioned that the cricket body is planning to introduce blood testing in 2017 in a bid to curb doping cases in cricket. He wishes to make cricket a drug-free sport.

“But protecting the integrity of cricket goes beyond our Anti-Corruption unit and we must ensure that our anti-doping programme is as effective as possible. We will introduce blood testing in 2017 as part of our ongoing commitment to a drug free sport and will continue to maintain our WADA compliance,” David Richardson wrote further.