Difficult to fit Olympics into cricket calendar, says ICC

DUBAI: There has been a push for Twenty20 cricket to become an Olympic sport, but chances of that happening may diminish if the ICC reverses its decision to switch the World T20 from a two-year to a four-year cycle.

Cricket is recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which, it is understood, has “encouraged” the ICC to apply for the inclusion of a Twenty20 event in the Olympics, featuring up to 12 teams, both men and women.

While governing bodies of other sports have been quick to seize the exposure Olympic status can provide, the ICC has maintained a deliberate approach to the matter. At the last two ICC board meetings - on February 3 and April 24 in Dubai - they have deferred taking a final position on whether or not to make an application to the IOC.

If the World T20 continues to take place once every two years, there is a chance that it would clash with the quadrennial cycle of the Summer Olympics. ICC head of global development Tim Anderson conceded it would be difficult to squeeze two major global T20 championships into the same calendar year.

“It’s a big decision, there are some pros and cons,” he told Cricinfo, “The ICC board has had long discussions and more recent discussions about the potential of cricket to participate in the Olympics. There’s been direct conversations with the IOC very recently and I think the continued dialogue with the IOC is really important but at this point our board has not made a decision in that regard.

“I think one of the additional pieces to the dynamic now is lots of discussion around the possibility of having two World Twenty20s in a four-year cycle,” Anderson said. “That would be great for cricket, too, I think and if that did happen, then you’ve got a really packed schedule of Twenty20 cricket internationally. Whether that positive move means that potentially another positive move is not possible.

“It’s hard to really say whether it’s possible to fit two World Twenty20s and an Olympic Games in a four-year cycle. Obviously if we have two World Twenty20s it’s going to make the calendar much tighter and more difficult I would imagine.”

Financial permutations are also a major factor. While the ICC controls broadcast rights and revenue distribution for its own competitions, they would cede both to the IOC for an Olympic T20 tournament. However, with the increase in government funding for sports with Olympic status, member countries who lose out on ICC revenue can still make up the difference.