2022 Commonwealth Games brings the return of Cricket as India take on Australia in opening match

Cricket makes a historic comeback in the Commonwealth Games after a long 24-year absence as the Indian Women’s cricket team will take on Australia in the opening game of the 2022 Commonwealth Games on Jul 29. It is a very special moment for the game of Cricket as it was not seen at the Commonwealth stage for a while now and will surely get to witness a lot of pull from the supporters all across the globe. Cricket was the first discipline that was announced with its full team list as a part of the Commonwealth Games this year.

The league-cum-knockout format will see eight countries battle it out for the gold medal. The sport is going to kick off in some fashion as well as the 2020 T20 World Cup finalists Australia will be taking on India in the first game. Sri Lanka was confirmed as the eighth team to qualify in the women’s T20 tournament, the ICC said on Tuesday. The announcement was made jointly by the International Cricket Council and the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) following Sri Lanka’s victory in the Commonwealth Games Qualifier in Kuala Lumpur last week and the subsequent CGF ratification of the island nation’s entry.

Australia, Barbados, England, India, New Zealand, South Africa, and Pakistan are the other countries to take part in this historic comeback tournament. The gold and bronze medal matches are already scheduled for August 7. The ICC was also delighted with the inclusion of the sport in this year’s event and after finalizing all the nations who are participating, ICC Chief Executive Jeoff Allardice said “It’s good to have finalized the identity of the teams participating in the Commonwealth Games. We will have eight of the best teams competing for the gold and I am sure we will get to watch a highly competitive tournament.

“The Commonwealth Games are an important part of the women’s cricket calendar over the next year. It is a huge opportunity for us to take cricket beyond the traditional strongholds and give more people around the world the chance to enjoy the game.”

The Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) President also expressed his views on the inclusion of cricket and said “Cricket is a sport synonymous with the Commonwealth. We are so excited to have it back in the Games for the first time since the men’s 50 over the competition at Kuala Lumpur in 1998.

“The debut of women’s T20 cricket will be a historic moment and a wonderful showcase of women’s sport across the world.”

The inclusion of cricket after such a long period of time will do a lot of good in terms of showcasing the sport to a lot of new viewers from the countries where Cricket is a new sport. This edition of the Commonwealth Games will see a lot of positive changes being introduced as well. The tournament comprising of 72 participating nations and territories will also witness more medals being awarded to women than men.