Ricky Ponting Excited About Cricket’s Return to Olympics and Potential Coaching Role at LA 28
New Delhi, India, August 11: Former Australia captain Ricky Ponting shared his thoughts on the possibility of mentoring or coaching the Australian cricket team at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics. Cricket is set to return to the Olympics after 128 years, having last appeared in the Games in 1900.
The LA28 Organising Committee proposed cricket along with baseball-softball, flag football, lacrosse, and squash for inclusion in the 2028 Olympics. The International Olympic Committee (IOC) confirmed cricket’s inclusion at the 141st IOC Session in Mumbai in October 2023. Top cricket teams worldwide will compete for an Olympic medal in their debut.
When asked about the potential coaching role, Ponting expressed his excitement, saying, “It’d be a pretty nice job, I reckon, to be a mentor around a cricket team in the Olympic Games, to hang out. I was lucky enough to play in the Commonwealth Games, and just to be around the athletes in the villages and stuff was quite a surreal environment to be in for a cricketer.”
Ponting added, “So, look, I wouldn’t say no, but I think there’ll be a lot of people putting their hands up to try and be a mentor or a coach for an Aussie team in the Olympic Games. It’d be special to be a part of, so who knows? We’ll keep my fingers crossed and see what happens.”
Ponting also discussed the positive impact of cricket’s inclusion in the Olympics, stating, “It can only be a positive thing for our game. I have sat on various committees over the last 15 or 20 years, and it is always been on the top of almost every agenda – how do we get the game back into the Olympics? And finally, it is there. It is only four years away. Once again, in the US by that stage, hopefully, with MLC (Major League Cricket), another four years down the track hopefully growing.”
He continued, “Who knows, there might even be more teams in the MLC by then. I think it also gives cricket a chance to break into the grassroots level in the US. But the thing about the Olympic Games, I mean, it is not the host nation. It is about the audience that it opens up. The Olympic Games, being viewed by so many people all around the world, just opens up completely different audiences to our game, that is seemingly growing on a daily basis anyway. It can only be a real positive thing for the game. Facilities and infrastructure and those things are going to be key, and how many teams they actually decide on. I think it is only six or seven teams that they are talking about. So qualification is going to be at a premium, how you actually qualify to get into the Olympic Games.”
Doubts Revealed
Ricky Ponting -: Ricky Ponting is a famous cricketer from Australia who used to be the captain of the Australian cricket team. He is now retired from playing but is still involved in cricket as a coach and commentator.
Olympics -: The Olympics is a big sports event that happens every four years where athletes from all over the world compete in various sports. It is one of the most famous and important sports events in the world.
LA 28 -: LA 28 refers to the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. This means that the Olympics will be held in Los Angeles, a city in the United States, in the year 2028.
International Olympic Committee -: The International Olympic Committee, or IOC, is a group that organizes the Olympic Games and decides which sports will be included. They make important decisions about how the Olympics are run.
141st IOC Session -: The 141st IOC Session is a meeting of the International Olympic Committee members. In this meeting, they decided to include cricket in the 2028 Olympics. This particular session took place in Mumbai, India, in October 2023.
Cricket -: Cricket is a popular sport, especially in countries like India, Australia, and England. It involves two teams, a bat, and a ball, and the teams take turns to bat and bowl.
Mentoring -: Mentoring means guiding or helping someone to learn and improve. In this context, Ricky Ponting wants to help the Australian cricket team by sharing his knowledge and experience.
