Cricket may be shifted from Los Angeles at the 2028 Olympics, to attract Indian fans

There are speculations that cricket competition in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics may get shifted to the East Coast of the United States. The aim is to draw in more traffic, especially from India for the newly added sport.

Not only that, the US seems to have more demand due to the growing popularity of their domestic cricket, according to the host committee chair, Casey Wasserman.

Cricket is not new in the Olympics. However, it has been 128 years since cricket was sidelined. In the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, the T20 format of the game will be played. However, the venue is yet to be confirmed.

How will it benefit the Indians?

The time difference between Los Angeles and India is almost 12 and a half hours. That means a match starting at around PDT 10 am is available to the Indians at IST 10:30 pm

On the other side, the East Coast is 9 and a half hours behind India. This means that a match that starts around EST (Eastern Daylight Time) at 10 am will be easily broadcast to the Indians at around 10:30 pm.

Earlier, both the men's and the women's tournaments were assigned to the West Coast. But keeping in mind the pros and cons, especially for the Indian Cricket fans, the East Coast may get the hosting responsibilities.

Moreover, New York on the East Coast has some experience in hosting cricket matches. Earlier this year, they arranged several preliminary-round matches of the T20 World Cup, cohosted by West Indies.

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Why is India important?

India holds the biggest cricket market. Not only that, the International Olympic Committee acknowledged how the popularity of Virat Kohli had made them include cricket in the Olympics.

Niccolo Campriani, the Director of the Olympics, told officially, "Virat Kohli is the main influence for adding cricket to the Olympics."

The Delhi batter has almost 314 million followers across his social media handles, making him the third-most followed athlete in the world. Kohli has more followers on social media than basketball legend LeBron James, rugby stalwart Tom Brady, and golf icon Tiger Woods combined.

According to Sportico, Wasserman had said that they are aiming for "more than USD 150 million in savings and new revenue to help maintain a balanced budget (for the Olympics)."

Grabbing more Indian fans with the added advantage of pre-furnished stadiums will help the committee in achieving so.

The three venues that hosted the T20 World Cup in the US, which India won to break the title drought, were Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, and a temporary stadium built on Long Island outside New York City.

New sports added

Apart from cricket, sports like baseball, softball, flag football, squash, and lacrosse, have been added to the LA28 Olympic roster. Olympics have gotten back the previous elegance of the 1990s,

However, shifting matches from the core venue is not unique. During the Paris Olympics, surfing was hosted in Tahiti. Marseille hosted sailing and shooting was held in Chateauroux. Soccer was played throughout the country.