The International Cricket Council (ICC) has scheduled the men’s and women’s cricket qualifying tournaments for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics for January and February that year, while the World Test Championship (WTC) final in 2029 will be played in England from June 8 to 12.
The dates form part of the ICC’s updated international events calendar shared with member boards following meetings in Dubai earlier this month. The schedule covers 12 men’s, seven women’s and five Under-19 events between the 2027 and 2031 ODI World Cups.
Cricket will return to the Olympic programme at Los Angeles 2028 for the first time since the 1904 Games. Both the men’s and women’s competitions will feature six teams, with the qualification process involving direct entries and regional representation.
The United States, as host nation, can qualify for both events subject to meeting the ICC’s ranking requirements. The US men’s team, currently ranked 13th, is positioned to meet the top-15 criterion during the qualification window ending December 31, 2026. The women’s team, ranked 19th, faces uncertainty over direct entry.
In the women’s competition, Australia, India, South Africa and Great Britain have secured qualification as the highest-ranked eligible teams from their respective continents, based on their performances at the T20 World Cup earlier this year.
For the men’s event, the highest-ranked eligible teams from Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania, based on ICC T20I rankings as of December 31, 2026, will earn direct places.
The Olympic qualifying tournaments will each feature eight teams, comprising the seven highest-ranked sides outside the automatic qualifiers and the winner of the Caribbean Regional Qualifier. The venues for both events are yet to be announced.
The ICC has also revised the criteria for allocating an additional women’s Olympic qualification place if the United States fails to meet the ranking requirement. Under the updated arrangement, the place will be determined by standings at the inaugural Women’s Champions Trophy in India in February 2027, using March 1, 2027, as the cut-off date.
The calendar also confirms that the women’s and men’s T20 World Cups will be held consecutively in 2028. The 12-team Women’s T20 World Cup in Pakistan is scheduled from September 7 to October 1, followed by the 20-team men’s tournament in Australia and New Zealand from October 12 to November 12.
Meanwhile, the 2030 Men’s T20 World Cup has been shifted from its earlier June window to July-August. England, Ireland and Scotland are scheduled to host the 20-team competition.
The updated calendar provides further clarity on the ICC’s international programme through 2031, with several major tournaments already assigned host nations in 2021 and additional dates now outlined for upcoming events.
