There could be as few as five spots for gold medal hopefuls in cricket at 2028 Olympics

Cricket is back in the Olympics in LA in 2028, but confirmation of how many countries will compete could make the fight for spots intense.

Only six countries will get the chance to win Olympic gold when cricket is reintroduced at the LA Olympics in 2028.

Last played in the Olympics in Paris in 1900, cricket has been added to the LA schedule and will also be part of the games in Brisbane in 2032.

Organisers confirmed the LA tournament would be T20 with six teams competing in both the men’s and women’s competitions.

Ninety athlete quotas have been allocated for each gender, allowing every team to name a 15-member squad.

The Australian men’s team is ranked No.2 on the ICC rankings, while the women are No.1.

Qualification criteria for the 2028 Games is yet to be confirmed, but with cricket being axed from the slimmed-down Commonwealth Games, LA looms as the only chance for Australian teams to add another gold to the medal won in Birmingham in 2022.

Meg Lanning led Australia to gold at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games. Picture: Ryan Pierse/Getty Images

There are 12 “full member” nations of the ICC but another 94 countries representing “associate members”, including the USA who could earn automatic selection for LA as the host nation.

That would mean only five more spots for men’s teams.

Cricket is one of five new sports to feature at the upcoming Olympics. The IOC approved cricket’s inclusion for LA28 two years ago, along with baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash.

The cricket venues for LA 2028 are yet to be confirmed and the schedule will be finalised closer to the Games.

Eight women’s teams participated at the Birmingham 2022 Commonwealth Games, while there were 14 men’s teams at the Asian Games and nine women’s teams.