Though no specific reason was provided for the scrapping of cricket – as well as other sports like field hockey, badminton, shooting and wrestling, among others – Commonwealth Games Federation CEO Katie Sadleir said in a statement, “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 minimises costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact – in doing so increasing the scope of countries capable of hosting.” Budgets, it would appear, is the reason for the trimmed-down version of the CWG in 2026, and possibly subsequent editions.

The Asian Games has also brought cricket back, with the Hangzhou 2022 edition (held in 2023 following the Covid-19 pandemic). India won gold in both the men’s and women’s T20 events, with Afghanistan and Bangladesh winning silver and bronze respectively among the men, and Sri Lanka and Bangladesh finishing second and third among the women.

Even as cricket is out of the CWG schedule, the Olympics has added T20 cricket – for men and women – as one of five new disciplines for Los Angeles 2028. The final decision was taken at an International Olympic Committee meeting in Mumbai in October last year.

“Some of you might be wondering why [cricket] in LA,” Niccolo Campriani, director of LA2028 local organising committee, had said at the time. “Well, the commitment to grow cricket in the US is real, and it’s already happening with the launch of the very first Major League Cricket season earlier this year, which exceeded all expectations. And the [men’s] T20 World Cup in 2024 coming to US and West Indies.”