Budgetary issues force cricket to be scrapped from Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games
As per reports, cricket has been omitted from the Glasgow Commonwealth Games (CWG), which is set to be held from July 23 to August 2, 2026. Sports like badminton, hockey, squash, table tennis and wrestling have also been dropped from the schedule.
Cricket returned to the CWG after 24 years in the 2022 edition, which saw only the women's T20 event taking place in Birmingham. The Australian team secured a thrilling nine-run victory over India to claim the gold medal.
As per a statement by CWG Federation CEO Katie Sadleir, budgetary issues have led to the trimming of the schedule. The move is aimed to minimize the cost of hosting the event and also limit the carbon footprint.
Here's what Sadleir said in a statement (via ESPNcricinfo):
"The 2026 Games will be a bridge to the Commonwealth Games of tomorrow - an exciting first step in our journey to reset and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible and sustainable model for the future that minimizes costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact - in doing so increasing the scope of countries capable of hosting."
Cricket to make a return to Olympics after 128 years
Cricket is set to make a comeback at the 2028 Summer Olympics, which is set to be held in Los Angeles after 128 years, with the participation of men's and women's teams. The last instance of a cricket match taking place in the Olympics was in 1900.
Four teams, Belgium, France, Great Britain, and the Netherlands were slated to participate in the event. However, Belgium and the Netherlands withdrew from the tournament. As a result, Great Britain clashed with France and won the match by 158 runs. Since then, there has been no inclusion of the sport in the Games.
The 2028 Olympics will likely see New York hosting the cricket games to make it convenient for Indian viewers to watch the game.
Interestingly, cricket also made a return to the Asian Games in the Hangzhou 2022 edition (held in 2023 due to COVID-19) for the first time in 2014. Both the Indian men's and women's teams secured title victories at the event.