Cricket has been approved as part of the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles, marking a significant decision by the International Olympic Committee (IOC).
The games in the T20 format will involve six teams, including both men’s and women’s sides. There has been a buzz surrounding this decision ever since the committee announced it in Mumbai on Monday, October 16.
The event is just a few years away, and while it may seem like a long time, if we rewind five years, the writer wasn’t even in college yet and like most people at that time, hadn’t even heard of the word ‘pandemic’.
Despite the possibility of several changes leading up to the 2028 Olympics, fans and experts can’t help but imagine India’s potential playing XI. Curiosity persists in their minds as they try to envision the team that will take the field.
Here, we are exercising our own curiosity, mostly for amusement and partially to determine how much of this should actually transpire over the next few years. Undoubtedly, the U19 World Cup in 2024 has the potential to produce the next Virat Kohli or Shubman Gill, who might anchor the squad by 2028.
That can wait; right now, we’re going to try to imagine a potential starting XI for the Indian men’s squad in the 2028 Olympics.
India’s openers for 2028 Olympics: Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal
This opening combo is predicted to rule international cricket across all formats for a very long time. You’d expect that both Shubman Gill and Yashasvi Jaiswal would be climbing the ladder to their top by the time the 2028 Olympics rolled around.
It seems frightening given how they have started out in their international careers. When the major event begins, Gill will be 28 and Jaiswal would be 26, with the chance of a number of batting records already against their names already.
But where does it leave India’s Asian Games gold-medal winning captain? Ruturaj Gaikwad could also compete in the Olympics, but it’s unlikely that the Gill-Jaiswal team will be defeated.
Call them the new Tendulkar-Ganguly or the new Rohit-Dhawan, but they have the potential to create a new benchmark for future generations.
Middle order: Tilak Varma, Yash Dhull, Rishabh Pant (c&wk), Rinku Singh, and Nishant Sindhu
Tilak Varma is undoubtedly a talented player who will likely be a key member of the Indian team for years to come. As the captain of India’s U19 World Cup-winning team in 2022, Yash Dhull has consistently performed well in domestic cricket. While he hasn’t yet found success in the IPL, it seems only a matter of time before he does.
As a middle-overs spinner, Dhull may make his India debut in the future, potentially with Rishabh Pant, a fellow Delhi native, serving as captain. After all, Pant has already cemented his status as a rising superstar, and India’s cherished tradition of having wicket-keeper captains may very well continue until the 2028 Olympics.
The frontline finisher is left, and only one name immediately comes to mind: Rinku Singh, who carried over his IPL form into international cricket. What would cricket be in the Olympics without Rinku pulling off a Houdini trick, you ask? The ideal message to get the rest of the world to pay attention!
Nishant Sindhu of Haryana, who put up a respectable fifty in the U19 World Cup final the previous year, is another prodigy who is anticipated to be with India for a very long time. He currently serves as Ravindra Jadeja’s understudy at CSK, but in the future, he may take the helm on his own.
Bowlers: Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav, and Umran Malik
At the Emerging Asia Cup in Sri Lanka this year, Harshit Rana was one of India’s top players. The tall Delhi speedster, who plays for the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) in the IPL, is known for his hard lengths and rapid pace. He can also wield the willow long.
In order to captivate first-time cricket spectators at the 2028 Olympics, it is imperative to repeat the idiom “pace is pace yaar.”
Umran Malik must attend. And if he is properly raised and groomed, he will be. Oh, the image of the thunderbolt-firing Jammu Express coming in from one end and Jasprit Bumrah’s cunning and skill from the other—isn’t it the stuff of movie theaters?
Of course, India would be wise to control Bumrah’s workload and maybe give him a vacation from all T20I matches till the 2028 Olympics and World Cup.
Now, let’s discuss our frontline spinner – Kuldeep Yadav. He is well on his way to becoming a legendary player in white-ball cricket. With his impressive performances in ODIs and T20Is, there is a strong possibility that he could be considered the world’s best spinner when he heads to Los Angeles.
What an exciting team, right? Do you think they’ll win the gold at the 2028 Olympics? It’s okay to dream big if you’re a fan of the Indian team.
India’s predicted playing XI for the 2028 Olympics: Shubman Gill, Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Yash Dhull, Rishabh Pant (c & wk), Rinku Singh, Nishant Sindhu, Harshit Rana, Jasprit Bumrah, Kuldeep Yadav and Umran Malik.
