Cricket will return to the Olympics after 128 years, at Los Angeles in 2028. Here's what India's XI might look like for the prestigious event.

The first and only time the game was included in the most prestigious sporting event was at the 1900 Paris Olympics. Great Britain and France were the only participants, with the former winning the sole match played over two days.

At Los Angeles in 2028, six teams are expected to participate, with India being one of the top contenders to clinch gold. Not much with regards to the qualification pathway and playing conditions have been finalised yet, except for the fact that the game will be played in the T20 format.

Also read: Paris 1900: The cricketers who never knew they were Olympic medalists

It’s worth noting the last time India played cricket in a multi-sporting event was in the 2023 Asian Games, where they sent a second-string squad. With the men's football competition in Olympics only allowing under-23 players, barring three older players in each team, there’s a potential for some restrictive regulations like that to crop up.

However, since no such rule has been put in place yet for cricket at the LA 2028 Games, we'll assume that India, like other teams, will send their strongest squad, more so given how rare medals are for the Indian contingent at the Olympic Games. 

India's potential XI at LA 2028 Olympics

Fearsome opening duo

Shubman Gill is the current vice-captain of the T20I side, but it wouldn't be far fetched to imagine his childhood friend Abhishek Sharma replacing him at the top in the near future, and becoming an important part of the Indian T20I side. His 46-ball century in only his second T20I after a head-turning IPL 2024 was enough indication of what he brings to the table. 

To partner him will be another left-hander, Yashasvi Jaiswal, who is no less of a firebrand, having got off to a rollicking start in his T20I and Test careers. 

No room for anchors

Rishabh Pant played an important role at the 2024 T20 World Cup at No.3, especially in the USA-leg of the tournament, where runs were hard to come by. He doesn't have an exceptional T20I record to boast of, but given his left-handedness and the X-factor that he brings, India might stick with him as their first-choice wicketkeeper in the long run, and for the Olympics.

That allows their best batter, Suryakumar Yadav, to be safe in case of a collapse in bowling-friendly conditions and come at four.

Rinku Singh will take the slot of the last specialist batter in the team and will be their designated finisher.

Since his debut in August 2023, no player has scored as many runs as Rinku (369) below four, and no one has a better average (61.50) or strike-rate (170.83). However, India haven’t utilised him judiciously lately. Until the Los Angeles games, they have ample time to give him the freedom to hone his skills.

A tested blueprint for all-rounders

India have realised that the mantra to their success in the format lies in how deep they bat without compromising their bowling. For that to happen, they backed Ravindra Jadeja and Axar Patel in the World Cup playing XI, despite both having near-identical skillsets. The move paid them rich dividends, with Axar often used as a floater in the batting lineup.

Now that Jadeja has called time on his T20I career, Riyan Parag is auditioning for his replacement and has done well in the limited chances he has got, especially with the ball.

Recent examples show India’s affinity in preparing batters to roll down their arms if needed. That Rinku and Surya bowled the last two overs to take the game to an improbable Super Over against Sri Lanka last week is a testament to that.

Given the sluggish American surfaces, Riyan and Axar will be India’s spin-bowling all-rounders, with part-timers on standby as a fallback plan.

Strong bowling department

Jasprit Bumrah is a cheat code that every team yearns for. Partnering him in the pacer arsenal will be Arshdeep Singh, who often flies under the radar but is deceptively lethal. No player has taken more wickets than Arshdeep (83 at 18.75 and 8.37) in T20Is since his debut in July 2022. The two hunting in pairs is perhaps one of the main reasons behind India’s stellar record as a defending side.

India may try someone like Harshit Rana as the third pacer. His batting credibility is a rarity among India’s tail and is gold dust. They will perhaps go with one frontline tweaker in Kuldeep Yadav.

Predicted XI

Abhishek Sharma

Yashasvi Jaiswal

Rishabh Pant (wk)

Suryakumar Yadav (c)

Rinku Singh

Riyan Parag

Axar Patel

Harshit Rana

Jasprit Bumrah

Kuldeep Yadav

Arshdeep Singh

Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.