The former Indian coach Rahul Dravid has backed the decision the return to Cricket in the Olympics 2028 and revealed that cricketers are excited about the introduction of the sport in the LA Olympics.
Dravid was invited as a guest in the discussion of the theme, “Cricket at the Olympics: Dawn of a new era.” The event was to celebrate the decision to include cricket in the 2028 Los Angeles Games, marking a significant achievement for the sport and enthusiasts worldwide.
“I’ve already heard a few conversations in the dressing room. People are talking about the 2026 T20 World Cup, there is an ODI World Cup in 2027, and you hear people saying there is the Olympics in 2028,” said Dravid.
Rahul Dravid revealed that there have been several discussions about Olympic participation within the Indian team’s dressing room and that the cricketers have been looking forward to clinching the Olympic title and interacting with other country athletes.
“People are going to want to win that gold medal, stand on the podium, and be a part of the Games Village, a great sporting event, and interact with so many athletes.
“As you get closer, I have no doubt that teams will be preparing and checking out facilities. They will take this seriously, and players will fight tooth and nail to be out there,” he added.
“You grow up watching the Olympics, seeing Carl Lewis winning the gold medal, watching the great athletes perform. You always want to be part of great events like this. The environment, the energy it’s a dream come true.”
Rahul Dravid hopes that India will win both the men’s and women’s gold medals in the Olympics. “The dream for me is to have a fantastic cricket tournament, hopefully, Indian men and women winning the gold which would be nice.
“But more than that, I wish for everyone here… So many Indian fans would be able to come here to LA and support cricket, and show the rest of the world how big and great a sport cricket is,” he said.
“Unfortunately, I won’t be able to play, but I will make every effort to be in LA in some capacity or another. If not anything else, I will try to get a media job,” joked Dravid, who ended his tenure as India’s head coach after the recent T20 World Cup triumph.
