The cricket returns to the Olympics in 2028 in Los Angeles after 128 years of absence. This is a big news for sport – but it is complicated for West India. The cult team, which turns 100 in 2028, does not even have to compete.
Why? Because Western India, as we know, is not a real country. It is a combined cricket team composed of 12 sovereign nations and more overseas territories – Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, Guyana and others. Only a country with recognized National Olympic Committees (Night) can participate in the Olympic world. Which means there is no place for the “West India” team.
And that’s not just a theory. In 2022 Commonwealth Games competed Barbados on the women’s T20 events. This was an insight into the Olympic challenge: if each country plays separately at more sports events, can there be a United West Indies team in the Olympic Games?
“There is no clear way for the cricket team of West India that could participate in the Olympic Games,” said CWI President Kishhore Shallow AFP. “The cricket return to games in 2028 must not exclude our young crickets from the same dream that inspired our athletes.”
He added: “The Caribbean has always set off at the Olympics and inspired the world of our athletic brilliance.”
Chris Dehring, the project director of the World Cup T20 CWI 2024, has repeated the idea: “Everything we ask is that the interview will be considered in the interview of the Olympic Heritage of our individual nations.”
A possible solution could be to hold between the Caribbean qualification, where the Supreme Team is represented in the region. But that’s still messy. ICC did not announce how the Olympic qualification will work, And time ticks. Even England could face a dilemma – play like a Team GB, or does Scotland try to qualify independently?
It’s ironic. Western India – the winner of the two World Cups ODI, two T20 titles and one trophy of champions – can be displaced to the event itself, which has cricket growth worldwide. For their 100th birthday, the team that once ruled the world does not have to invite the biggest sports celebration on the planet.
And frankly, it would be heartbreaking.
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Published:
Debodinna Chakracorty
Published on:
18 July 2025
