Cricket will not feature in the 2026 Commonwealth Games (CWG) scheduled to take place in Glasgow from July 23 to August 2. This year, the event will host only ten sports, leading to the exclusion of cricket, which made its return to the CWG in 2022 with a women’s T20 competition. Previously, a men’s ODI event was part of the 1998 CWG in Kuala Lumpur.
While the Commonwealth Games Federation did not specify the reasons for dropping cricket, as well as other sports like field hockey, badminton, shooting, and wrestling, CEO Katie Sadleir commented, “The 2026 Games will be a bridge to the Commonwealth Games of tomorrow—a collaborative, flexible, and sustainable model for the future.” This suggests budget considerations likely influenced the decision, trimming down the program to minimize costs and environmental impact while enhancing social effects.
Despite its absence from the CWG, cricket is set to return to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028 after a 128-year hiatus, featuring men’s and women’s T20 competitions. In the 2022 Birmingham CWG, Australia won gold in the women’s T20 final against India, with New Zealand taking bronze. In the 1998 Games, South Africa claimed gold in the men’s 50-over event.
Cricket also made a comeback at the Asian Games, with India winning gold in both men’s and women’s T20 events at Hangzhou 2022, held in 2023 due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
As the Olympic Games embrace T20 cricket for Los Angeles 2028, the sport’s growth in the U.S. is evident. The recent launch of Major League Cricket and the upcoming men’s T20 World Cup in 2024, co-hosted by the U.S. and West Indies, are driving this momentum.
