How Virat Kohli played a role in cricket’s participation at LA Olympics 2028
After achieving grand success in the Asian Games and the Commonwealth Games, cricket will be making its grand return at the Olympics as the sport, along with four more will be played at the Los Angeles Games of 2028, as officially approved by the International Olympics Committee on Monday. Cricket’s addition, which includes both men’s and women’s T20s, will mark the sport’s first Olympics appearance since 1900.
Virat Kohli’s contribution to cricket is not only limited to his performance on the field.(AFP)
As Niccolo Campriani, president of the LA Local Organising Committee (LALOG) spoke at length about the growing popularity of cricket in the United States, it’s no rocket science that next year’s T20 World Cup – which will be played across USA and the West Indies – and the breakout inaugural season of the Major League Cricket served as a catalyst for this monumental decision. But beyond the fact that cricket beginning to find its feet in the US market in terms of public consumption, the Virat Kohli factor too played its role.
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Kohli is a global ambassador of the sport. In May, he became the first Indian to hit 250 million followers on Instagram. Worldwide, he is only behind football icons Cristiano Ronaldo (585 million and counting) and Lionel Messi (464 million) in terms of followers on Instagram. Kohli’s reach and superstardom is spread across the world with Campriani acknowledging the same.
“We all recognise the critical importance of a strong digital presence in order to keep the games relevant for the youth. And cricket is offering a unique platform to do so. Think [about] my friend here Virat. He’s the third-most followed athlete in the world on social media with 314 million followers. That’s more than LeBron James, Tom Brady and Tiger Woods combined. This is the ultimate win-win for LA 28,” Campriani said.
“The IOC and the cricket community as cricket will be showcased on a global stage to grow beyond the traditional cricket countries, while the Olympic movement gains access to previously untapped communities of athletes and fans. It’s a great example of how one can reach the other.”
In an episode of ‘The Joe Pomp Show,’ earlier this year prominent sports entrepreneur and investor Joe Pompliano made a compelling statement about cricket’s worldwide popularity. According to Pompliano, cricket stands as the second-most followed sport on a global scale, trailing only behind football. With a staggering 2.5 billion enthusiasts spanning the globe, cricket’s immense appeal is undeniable.
To provide further context for this impressive statistic, Pompliano drew a noteworthy comparison with Kohli’s Insta followers. Surpassing some of the world’s most prominent athletes, including Serena Williams, Roger Federer, Shohei Ohtani, and Patrick Mahomes combined, Kohli’s substantial following on Instagram is a testament to his incredible influence. Ohtani, a beloved figure among American baseball fans, has a following of just 6 million followers in comparison.
The only little downside to this uber-cool development though, is that Kohli may not feature when cricket makes its way back into the Olympics five year from now. Having already moved away from T20Is for India, Kohli will be 39 and nearing 40 by the LA 2028 Games and will be in the last leg of his career, if not retired already.
When cricket was last played, Great Britain had clinched the gold medal by defeating France in a one-match showdown. In the Birmingham Commonwealth Games of 2022, the Indian women’s cricket team delivered a commendable performance, securing a silver medal after a closely fought final against Australia, and the remarkable show continued this year as just a few days ago, both women’s and men’s cricket teams achieved resounding success by clinching gold medals at the Asian Games. Besides cricket, baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse and squash are the other four sports included for the world’s biggest sporting extravaganza.
