The West Indies are in a unique situation, and despite being a dominating force in world cricket, they have no place in Olympics cricket as it makes a return in Los Angeles 2028. The current rule does not allow the West Indies to be part of the Olympics as it bars associations of nations from competing. The West Indies are also in a similar situation to Great Britain. Hence, Cricket West Indies (CWI) has written to the International Cricket Council (ICC), proposing two plans that could allow them to compete.
The Caribbean islands compete in the Olympics as separate nations. But for cricket, 15 nations come together to form the Cricket West Indies, a unified team. They became the fourth country to get Test status in 1928. Since then, players from those 13 countries form the West Indies Cricket Team.
“The Caribbean has always punched above its weight at the Olympics, inspiring the world with our athletic brilliance. Cricket’s return to the Games in 2028 must not exclude our young cricketers from the same dream that has inspired our athletes. The Olympic Charter emphasizes fairness, transparency, and universality. We are simply asking that these principles be upheld—not just in spirit, but in structure. West Indies cricket must have a pathway, and fully deserve an opportunity to compete,” Kishore Shallow, President of Cricket West Indies, said in a statement.
West Indies Women’s Cricket Team is a world T20 champion (T20) while the men’s team have won the T20 World Cup twiceThe Olympics problem
As cricket returns to the LA 2028 Olympics, the West Indies are not allowed to compete in the Olympics. The International Olympic Committee only recognises sovereign countries. As the West Indies is not a sovereign nation but a collective of multiple independent countries and territories, each with its own National Olympic Committee (NOC), it cannot compete as a unit.
The IOC requires that Olympic teams represent sovereign nations or recognized NOCs. The West Indies, as a regional cricketing entity administered by Cricket West Indies (CWI), does not meet this criterion. Instead, individual Caribbean nations like Jamaica, Barbados, and Trinidad and Tobago can compete separately under their own flags. The only time Caribbean islands were allowed to compete as a unit was back in 1960 when it was called the British West Indies.
West Indies proposal
As the West Indies cannot compete in the Olympics cricket despite being ranked in the Top 5 for ICC T20 Team rankings in both men’s and women’s, CWI has proposed two plans to the ICC.
Proposal 1: Internal qualifier: If the ICC uses rankings to determine qualified teams, the Caribbean islands will play an internal qualifying tournament among their IOC-affiliated nations. The winner will represent the West Indies in the LA 2028 Olympics cricket. Proposal 2: Global qualifier for associate nations: If the ICC decides against rankings as a qualifying criterion, the West Indies proposes a global Olympics qualifier for associate nations. All Caribbean islands will compete in that tournament. However, there are 96 associate members in the ICC apart from 12 full members. That would make the qualifying tournament a long one. With the cricket calendar already packed, it could be difficult to make room for such an elaborate tournament. “All we are asking is that our individual nations’ exceptional Olympic legacy be considered in the conversation. The structure of West Indies cricket is unique— men and women teams representing 15 individual nations and territories, each with its own Olympic identity. We cannot let this once-in-a-generation opportunity for national development pass without creating a way for our countries to participate,” Chris Dehring, Chief Executive Officer of CWI, said in a statement.ICC’s challenge
There will be only six teams in the men’s and women’s events each. The six teams also include the host nation United States, which is an associate ICC member. Hence, that effectively makes things more difficult. The ICC will have to determine five nations for the qualification. As InsideSport reported earlier, the ICC is facing several challenges in determining the qualification criteria.
Apart from the West Indies, Great Britain will also face a similar challenge. While England and Scotland play cricket as separate entities, Great Britain — England, Scotland, and Wales — competes in the Olympics. However, Cricket Scotland is already in talks with England & Wales Cricket Board to form a joint team. Hence, the ICC is already finding it difficult to decide on the qualification criteria.
“There is a lot of time to decide on the qualification criteria. It’s not the top priority at the moment. But you are right, it will be difficult since cricket does not follow a straightforward qualification tournament like other sports. All the stakeholders will be part of the discussion when the time comes,” a senior BCCI official, who is also a member of the ICC committee, told InsideSport last month.
Possible criteria for LA28 Cricket qualification
ICC Rankings Standalone LA28 Qualification tournament Base ICC T20 World Cup 2026 as the qualification tournament Invitation-onlyWary of missing out on Olympics cricket, West Indies proposes 2 plans to ICC Inside Sport India.
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