India’s women’s cricket team has secured one of the four confirmed spots for the cricket event at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. The qualification pathway was announced by the International Cricket Council (ICC) and the International Olympic Committee (IOC). Six teams will compete in both the men’s and women’s T20 events, and the ICC has also introduced its first-ever Olympics Qualifier to decide the remaining places. Teams from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania are all guaranteed representation as cricket returns to the Games after 128 years.
The ICC confirmed that the qualification for five places will be “decided through a combination of existing ICC events and ICC T20I rankings, according to the existing approved and published FTP structure.” Meanwhile, the sixth and final spots for both men’s and women’s events will be decided through the newly introduced ICC Olympics Qualifier, which will be held next year in 2027. Cricket at the Olympics will take place from July 12 to 28, the LA organisers had announced in July last year.
For the men’s event, the qualification process is different. Four teams will qualify based on the ICC Men’s T20I rankings as of December 31, 2026. However, the spots will go to the highest-ranked eligible National Olympic Committees (NOCs) from different continents, rather than simply the top four teams in the rankings. The fifth-ranked team in both men’s and women’s cricket will be the host nation USA, as long as they stay in the top 15 at any time between 30 June 2026 and 31 December 2026. For the men’s event, if the USA are not in the top 15 at any time during this period, “the fifth automatic qualification spot will be allocated to the next-highest-ranked nation from any continent that has not already qualified by 31 December 2026.”
India Women Qualify for LA 2028 Olympics
In the women’s category, if the USA are not in the top 15, the fifth spot will go to the highest-placed non-qualified nation in the ICC T20I rankings from any continent as of 1 March 2027. Meanwhile, India women have qualified for the event along with Australia, Great Britain (England) and South Africa. While the men’s event will be decided as per T20I rankings, “the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 has confirmed the first participants for LA28, with Australia, Great Britain (via England), India and South Africa qualifying by virtue of being the highest-placed eligible finishers from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania. The ICC has capped one place per continent for these places, which puts New Zealand’s qualification in doubt. USA can be the fifth-ranked team for the women’s category if it stays in the top 15.
The sixth and final Olympic spot in both the men’s and women’s competitions will be decided through the first-ever ICC Olympics Qualifier in 2027. The tournament will feature eight teams in each category, with only the winner earning a place at the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.
The ICC and the IOC have announced a separate qualification pathway for the West Indies. Since the West Indies is a combined team representing several Caribbean nations and is not recognised as a National Olympic Committee (NOC) by the IOC, it cannot compete at the Olympics or earn a direct qualification spot.
However, if the West Indies are among the eight highest-ranked teams that have not already qualified by December 31, 2026, a Caribbean Qualifier will be held. The winning National Olympic Committee from that event will earn a place in the ICC Olympics Qualifier, where it can compete for a spot at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.