Cricket will return to the Olympics after 128 years in the 2028 Los Angeles games. The sport was last featured in the 1900 Olympics as a one-off game and will make a return as a six-team T20I event. An Olympic gold is one of the biggest achievements in sports, and each cricket-playing nation would want to grab the coveted medal.

The qualification criteria for the gala event are not confirmed, but the top five teams and host USA will likely feature in the 2028 Olympics. India is one of the top teams in world cricket, and even though the event is a fair way away, one would back the Men in Blue to qualify for the showpiece event.

India's Likely XI For the 2028 Olympics

The Men in Blue have a settled T20I team, and they have a T20 World Cup lined up in 2026, so it's very unlikely there will be many changes in the team from the current squad. The same team should also be backed to play in the Olympics, as the board would want to avoid a transition phase ahead of a big event like the Olympics.

Abhishek Sharma and Sanju Samson have done well as openers, however, the players will have to keep performing to retain their spots. Someone like Priyansh Arya could be kept as a backup opener unless BCCI fall for one of Shubman Gill or Yashasvi Jaiswal, who will also play the other two formats for India.

Suryakumar Yadav should be the captain of the team, while Tilak Varma, Shreyas Iyer, and Rinku Singh should also find a place. Rishabh Pant could be the first-choice wicketkeeper-batter, while Hardik Pandya should be the fast bowling all-rounder. The conditions in the USA would need a spin-heavy attack, so Axar Patel, Kuldeep Yadav, and Varun Chakravarthy should be in the team. In terms of fast bowling, Arshdeep Singh, Harshit Rana, and Mohammed Siraj could lead the pace attack. Bumrah has fitness concerns, and he might not play T20Is for India anymore to manage his workload.

India's Likely Squad For 2028 Olympics: Abhishek Sharma, Sanju Samson, Priyansh Arya/Shubman Gill/Yashasvi Jaiswal, Tilak Varma, Suryakumar Yadav (C), Shreyas Iyer, Hardik Pandya, Rishabh Pant (WK) Rinku Singh, Axar Patel, Arshdeep Singh, Varun Chakravarthy, Kuldeep Yadav, Harshit Rana, Mohammed Siraj

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