Cricket West Indies to host T20 domestic championship as selection process for Los Angeles Olympics 2028

The Cricket West Indies is all set to host a domestic T20 Championship in 2025, with a vision to prepare the team for the Los Angeles Olympics 2028.

Notably, Cricket has officially become part of LA28, making its return to the Olympic stage after 128 years. It was part of the 1900 Olympics in Paris, with only two teams—one from Great Britain and one from France—competing for medals.

Despite its humongous popularity around the world, the sport was never featured in any Olympic Games. However, now the sport has made its entry to the Olympics. Therefore, the Cricket West Indies have started their preparation in order to win a medal in the sport at the international platform.

While shedding light on their preparation, the President of Cricket West Indies, Dr Kishore Shallow, stated that the discussions have already begun with the Caribbean Premier League to organize the domestic championship next year and make it a reality.

Dr Shallow remarked that this competition will play a crucial role in determining which team or teams will represent Cricket West Indies at the Olympics 2025. For the same, he stated that he is looking forward to determining which players will carry the West Indies Flag in Los Angeles.

He added that they are currently negotiating with CPL to sponsor the domestic T20 event starting next year. He asserted that the Cricket West Indies Director, Miles Bascombe and his team have already identified a suitable window for the 2025 tournament.

The President of West Indies Cricket noted that they are expecting to host the same process for the Olympics, which they did in the last year for the women’s team. While recalling that, he noted that Barbados won in the Women’s tournament back then and was selected to represent the nation on the global platform.

“We anticipate a similar selection criterion for the Olympics, barring a great scenario where all teams could participate, which would be remarkable but unlikely,” mentioned the Cricket West Indies President.

The President stated that Caribbean Premier League is a franchise-driven league which does not allow the winners of its team to represent the region at the Olympics. As, CPL includes, players from several other nations as well, therefore, in order to secure the future of domestic tournament, the Cricket West Indies are also exchanging significant dialogues with CARICOM leaders for the funding of the domestic T20 Championship.

The domestic T20 Championship is a great opportunity for all the West Indies players to showcase their talent, skills and abilities and grab a chance to represent their nation at the Olympics 2028. The authorities of Cricket West Indies stated that the domestic championship will give a clear identification of the teams to be representing West Indies at the international platform.