Olympic hopes dead as WT20 dates clash

Cricket's long-awaited entry into the Olympics, through the T20 route, was finally picking up steam a few months ago. ICC had asked chief executives of the 10 full member nations to submit their respective reports on whether or not the Olympic dream could be realised.

Cricket's long-awaited entry into the Olympics, through the T20 route, was finally picking up steam a few months ago. ICC had asked chief executives of the 10 full member nations to submit their respective reports on whether or not the Olympic dream could be realised. These reports were to be discussed thoroughly at the just-concluded ICC annual conference.

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As was expected, it fizzled out. "Yes, the Olympics were discussed. And nothing has changed. The BCCI's stance remains the same – and I can assure that cricket will not be part of the Olympics. The reasons are the same – we feel cricket doesn't need to be an Olympic sport," BCCI's interim chief Jagmohan Dalmiya told HT.

When India's cricketers rejected the WADA code in 2009, they also ruled out future participation in Asian Games or the Commonwealth Games.

In fact the dates of World T20 in 2016 in India and the 2020 edition in Australia will both collide with Olympics. Thus, cricket's governing body has ruled out even the slightest possibility of making a backdoor entry.

Cricket has only once appeared at the Olympics, in 1900, when a team from Britain played one from France.