Dubai
\nVirat Kohli welcomed the inclusion of cricket in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and although the Indian great will not be coaxed out of retirement for the showpiece, he said he believed a new generation of Indian athletes would be ready to strike gold.
\nCricket is returning to the Games after more than a century with a proposed six-team Twenty20 format for men and women in Los Angeles.
\nKohli, 36, who retired from the sport\u2019s shortest format last June after India\u2019s World Cup triumph, said international leagues around the world had played a big role in elevating the profile of the sport and ensuring it was showcased at the Games.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s great, I mean, when I heard the news I was really happy about it,\u201d Kohli, who continues to play 50-overs and test cricket for India, said during the RCB Innovation Lab Indian Sports Summit on Saturday.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s happened, and the amount of T20 cricket that has been played all over the world, the leagues that are played all over the world and the Indian Premier League (IPL) have definitely played a massive role in that as well,\u201d he said.
\n\u201cIt has got cricket to the stage where it\u2019s part of the Olympics. It\u2019s a great opportunity for some of our athletes to be able to taste it.\u201d
\nThe International Olympic Committee (IOC) said in October 2023 that cricket\u2019s inclusion for the first time since the 1900 Games had the potential to activate and engage new audiences, with the sport\u2019s worldwide fan base estimated at 2.5 billion people.
\nWith millions of his followers around the world and on social media, Kohli\u2019s presence at the Games would have played a huge role in boosting the sport.
\nBut the batsman, who continues to play T20 for the Royal Challengers Bengaluru in the IPL, said there was little chance of him coming back to the national team in the format.
\n\u201cI don\u2019t know, maybe if we\u2019re playing for the gold medal I might sneak in for one game, get the medal and come back home,\u201d Kohli said with a smile.
\n\u201cNo, but I think it\u2019s a great thing. To be Olympic champions would be an absolutely magnificent feeling. A first of its kind and I\u2019m sure we\u2019ll be somewhere close to that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Dubai Virat Kohli welcomed the inclusion of cricket in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics and although the Indian great will not be coaxed out of retirement for the showpiece, he said he believed a new generation of Indian athletes would be ready to strike gold. Cricket is returning to the Games after more than a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":467348,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-467338","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n