The road to the Los Angeles Olympics 2028 has become clearer, as the ICC has announced that the men's and women's cricket qualifiers will be held in January and February 2028. The ICC has also confirmed that England will continue to be the host for the ICC World Test Championship Final.

The WTC Final 2027 will take place in England from June 8 to 12. The updated schedule was shared with member boards after the ICC meetings in Dubai in October. Earlier, Glenn Phillips hit back at an Indian reporter over New Zealand’s fielding criticism.

ICC shifts Los Angeles Olympics 2028 Qualifiers to January-February; confirms how teams will qualify

The ICC calendar between the 2027 and 2031 ICC ODI World Cups currently features 12 men's events, seven women's events, and five Under-19 tournaments, including qualifiers. The global body has now confirmed the dates for all the competitions during this period.

The ICC had initially planned to hold the Olympic qualifiers in 2027, but the tournaments have now been shifted to January and February 2028. This means there will be only six months between the qualifiers and the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.

However, the ICC has not yet announced the venues for the men's and women's Olympic qualifiers. Both tournaments will feature eight teams, with the ICC selecting the participants based on international rankings.

Each event will include the seven highest-ranked teams that have not already qualified automatically, along with the winner of the Caribbean Regional Qualifier. Amid this, Riyan Parag to lose Rajasthan Royals captaincy after ownership change.

India among four teams to qualify in Women's category

Cricket will return to the Olympics at LA28 for the first time since 1904. The ICC had already announced the competition format and details of the six-team Olympic events in June. The body has now updated the qualification rules for the host nation, the United States, in the women's category.

Australia, India, South Africa, and Great Britain have secured direct places in the women's Olympic cricket competition. They qualified as the highest-ranked eligible teams from their respective continents based on their performances at the T20 World Cup earlier this year.

However, the men's qualification process will be different. The top eligible teams from Africa, Asia, Europe, and Oceania, based on the ICC T20I rankings on December 31, 2026, will earn four direct spots.

USA men's team in strong position, Women's side faces risk

Well, the United States can also qualify automatically as the host nation, but its men's and women's teams are in very different positions.

Under the rules announced in June, both men’s and women’s USA teams had to enter the top 15 of the T20I rankings at some point between June 30 and December 31, 2026, to secure direct entry as hosts to the Los Angeles Olympics Games 2028.

The USA men's team are currently ranked 13th, so they meet the requirement. But the USA women's team is ranked 19th and could miss out if they fail to meet the ICC's criteria.

The ICC has also changed the rules for deciding who gets the additional spot if the USA women's team do not qualify automatically. Earlier, the ICC had planned to award that place to the highest-ranked team that had not already qualified, based on the rankings on March 1, 2027.

But now that spot will be decided by the results of the inaugural ICC Women's Champions Trophy, which will be held in India in February 2027. If the USA women's team fails to meet the ranking requirement by December 31, 2026, the ICC Women's Champions Trophy standings will determine which eligible team gets the place.