Cricket is set to return to the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Six men's teams and as many women's teams will square off from July 12 to 29 for the Olympic glory. The matches will be played in T20 format with the women's medal matches set to be held on July 20, 2028, and the men's on July 29, 2028 - paving the way for the cricketers to stand on the podium after 128 years. Even Halley's Comet has appeared twice since 1900. Back in 1900, France and Great Britain met in the only cricket match played at the Olympics thus far. It was 56 years after the first-ever international match played between the USA and Canada. There is no cricket team named Great Britain now. France does have a national cricket team. Interestingly, both teams had playing XIIs and competed in a two-day match. Charles Beachcroft-led Great Britain defeated Philip Tomlin's France by 158 runs to win the silver medal. Yes, Great Britain was given a silver medal while France received the bronze medal. Along with the medals, the teams also received the miniature versions of the Eiffel Tower. 12 years later, when cricket was stamped as an official Olympic event, Great Britain's medal was officially converted to a gold medal. France's medal was upgraded to silver. Neither Great Britain nor France was officially supposed to be part of the Olympics. These two teams only competed in the global event due to Belgium's and the Netherlands' withdrawal. Why cricket remained away from the Olympics? Cricket made its Commonwealth Games debut in 1998, but remained away from the Olympics. Cricket enjoys huge popularity in Asia, but it has never been a global sport. The major reason behind cricket's absence from the Olympics was the BCCI's reluctance to come under NADA's (National Anti-Doping Agency) ambit. ICC became a signatory of WADA (World Anti-Doping Agency) in 2006. But it couldn't become WADA compliant due to the BCCI's refusal to come under National Anti-Doping Agency (NADA). Every country under the ICC's umbrella had to follow the law of the land for the apex body to be WADA compliant. BCCI finally came under NADA's ambit in 2019, which eventually opened the doors for the ICC to bid for cricket's inclusion in the Olympics. A report presented at the ICC's conference in 2014 revealed that the England Cricket Board was also against cricket's inclusion in the Olympics due to the global event overlapping with their home season. "In the England and Wales Cricket Board's, the potential for a clash occurs every four years. Indeed, the ECB has estimated that an Olympic Games in the first half of August could see it lose an entire four-match Test series which would, based on its current valuations, cause cricket in England and Wales to miss out on revenues of US$130 million and would - based on the knock-on effects in other years - require compensation of approximately US$ 160 million," the report stated. When road for cricket's return to the Olympics kicked off In August 2021, former ICC Chairman Greg Barclay boasted about having "billion fans globally" while talking about cricket to be included in the Olympics. It officially kicked off the road for cricket's return to the Olympics. "Our sport is united behind this bid. And we see the Olympics as a part of cricket's long-term future. We have more than a billion fans globally and almost 90 percent of them want to see cricket at the Olympics. Clearly cricket has a strong and passionate fanbase, particularly in South Asia where 92% of our fans come from, whilst there are also 30 million cricket fans in the USA. The opportunity for those fans to see their heroes competing for an Olympic medal is tantalising," he said in a press release. A year later, cricket was among the sports shortlisted to be reviewed for inclusion in the 2028 Olympics. During the 2023 World Cup, it was announced that cricket would be part of the 2028 LA Olympics. "After a wait of more than a century, our beloved sport is back on the Olympic stage at @LA28. This marks the dawn of a new era for cricket as it will be a golden opportunity to foster inclusivity and showcase new talent from emerging cricketing nations. A start of something truly special!" an elated Sachin Tendulkar wrote on X. "Happy and thrilled to hear the news of inclusion of Cricket in the Olympic Games. Another opportunity to represent our country at a global stage," wrote Suryakumar Yadav. “It's great tidings for India as we have a great cricket team and some superb up-and-coming players with a lot of potential. This will also benefit cricket as an entry into the Olympics will only further its worldwide appeal. The sport’s inclusion at LA28 will be an opportunity for cricket to extend its global footprint and encourage more countries to take up the sport seriously," said India's two-time Olympic medalist, Neeraj Chopra. Will cricket survive the Olympics test sans Virat Kohli? Unless Shubman Gill or any other cricketer becomes a juggernaut like Virat Kohli, there will be doubts over cricket's success at the Olympics. Cricket is still not a global sport and many across the world have only heard about it because of Kohli. Kohli is a global icon and his presence would have made a huge difference at cricket's 'second debut' at the Olympics. Kohli retired from T20I cricket after winning the 2024 World Cup. Speaking at the RCB Innovation Lab talk show in March this year, he joked about sneaking in for one game to get a medal. But the fact is: Kohli will miss the Olympics and the Olympics will certainly miss Virat.