South Africa’s Reeza Hendricks, left, is bowled out by India’s Jasprit Bumrah, centre, during the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup final cricket match between India and South Africa at Kensington Oval in Bridgetown, Barbados, Saturday, June 29, 2024. (AP Photo/Ramon Espinosa)
In a bid to gain the viewership of Indians, the 2028 LA Olympics will likely see the cricket event moved to the state of New York, almost a six-hour flight away.
India is 9.5 hours ahead of New York, as compared to the 12.5 hours behind Los Angeles. According to a report in the Times, Casey Wasserman, chairman of the 2028 LA Games organising committee said in Texas that the plan for cricket will be chalked out with India in mind. The inclusion of cricket in the LA 2028 Games programme was largely done to cater to South Asian audiences and give the International Olympic Committee leverage to demand bigger broadcast deals, especially at the sub-continent – a move that will be further strengthened if the broadcast timing aligns, should the move to New York happen.
Recently New York hosted matches from the 2024 T20 World Cup in a makeshift stadium with drop in pitches at Nassau County. Weather played a significant part in some of the matches held at the makeshift stadium. According to the Times, there is a likelihood that the matches could be held at the Marine Park in Brooklyn, home of MI New York from Major League Cricket. There are also talks of a 10000-seater stadium being built but it’s unclear whether it will be ready before LA 2028 rolls in.
One of the positives from the cricket event possibly being shifted to New York would be the Games organisers’ concerns of an increased number of athletes and support staff. Recent Games have tried to keep the total athlete numbers around 10,000 and shifting cricket to New York could alleviate some of those problems. The eight men’s and women’s squad will have 15 members each, as well as five support staff per team, coming to an estimated total of 320 total people for two events.
© The Indian Express Pvt Ltd
First uploaded on: 28-10-2024 at 20:04 IST
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