Cricket won’t be part of the 2026 edition of the Commonwealth Games (CWG), to be held in Glasgow from July 23 to August 2. The subsequent quadrennial event has dropped quite a few sports, including field hockey, badminton, and wrestling. The CWG Federation has not provided a specific reason behind these scrappings.

Cricket returned to CWG in 2022 with a women’s T20 event where Australia won the gold medal by beating India in the final in Birmingham. Recently crowned the T20 World Cup champions, New Zealand won the bronze medal in that tournament. The men’s event in CWG was last held in 1998 in Kuala Lumpur where South Africa, Australia and New Zealand clinched gold, silver and bronze respectively. 

CWG CEO Katie Sadleir said, “The 2026 Games will be a bridge to the Commonwealth Games of tomorrow—an exciting first step in our journey to reset and redefine the Games as a truly collaborative, flexible, and sustainable model for the future that minimizes costs, reduces the environmental footprint, and enhances social impact. In doing so, we will increase the scope of countries capable of hosting.” 

Meanwhile, cricket is set to return to the Olympics in the Los Angeles edition in 2028. In a decision finalized at an International Olympic Committee meeting in Mumbai in October last year, both men’s and women’s T20 events will take place in the Olympics, marking cricket’s comeback to the world’s foremost sports competition after 128 years. 

Cricket was also played in the 2022 season of the Asian Games which was later held in 2023 in Hangzhou. India won the gold in both men’s and women’s events. Afghanistan and Bangladesh (in men’s) alongside Sri Lanka and Bangladesh (in women’s) were the other winners. 

If you’ve not downloaded the Cricket.com app yet, you’re missing out on our content — big time. Download the App here.