Former Australian captain Steve Waugh stated China has taken cricket’s inclusion at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics seriously and began their preparations in pursuit of a gold medal. The sport of cricket made a return to the Olympics after more than a century. The last and only time cricket featured at the Olympics was in 1900 in Paris.
Cricket has existed in China since the 1800s but played their first international game only in 2009 ACC Trophy Challenge. Despite being granted an ICC full membership in T20Is, China played their first T20I only in 2023. Since then China have played 11 T20Is, winning just two and losing nine games.
“As soon as cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics was announced, China started building a team,” Waugh told ANI. “They are serious about winning gold. T20 is massive now. It’s billions of dollars, and it’s growing every day. Test cricket will survive, but T20 will dominate. Players will soon be contracted mainly to franchises. Test matches might even need special permissions,” he added.
