News Track India: Olympic Games is the greatest sporting extravaganza in this earth and Cricket is gaining momentum as one of the popular most sport. Then why is not Cricket in Olympics? This is a question we have been asking ever since its sole appearance in the 1900 edition. The recent popularity of Twenty20 cricket has made the International Cricket Council to vie for the inclusion of Twenty20 in Olympics. This is what the CEO of ICC Haroon Lorgat said to a radio network during the third Test between Australia and India in Perth.Lorgat said "We have never had a format that would lend itself to playing in the Olympics until Twenty20 came to the fore." Lorgat said Twenty20 format in international cricket is suitable for the Olympics. He, however, made it clear that the council will first study the possible benefits in participating in Olympics. “There are pros and cons to that decision. We would need to see what the implications would be on theCricket World Cup," he added. The cricket governing body ICC was officially recognised as a federation by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) in 2010, which means cricket can bid for its return in the 2020 Games. However, the very concern is the tight schedule in which the game has been managed till date. Olympic participation would at least demand two weeks which means ICC has to do a proper evaluation before jumping into the fray. Lorgat said that international cricket's tight playing schedule would be a major obstacle in ensuring the sport's return to the Olympics. "If we were to introduce cricket into the Olympics, that is another extended period of time taken out of the calendar," he said. To mention here, earlier the longer version of cricket both Test and One-Day Internationals were not feasible to be included in Olympics. However, the explosion of Twenty20 cricket worldwide has certainly opened up an opportunity to present this game in the list of Olympic sports.Source: ICC may bid to bring Cricket back into Olympics
