Islamabad Oct 22: Cricket Excluded from 2026 Commonwealth Games. Cricket has been removed off the finalized list of games for the 2026 Commonwealth Games (CWG), which will be held in Glasgow from July 23 to August 2. This decision is expected to cause a stir in the sports community.
Cricket, one of the most popular sports in the world, will not be included in the ten sports that will be included in this abridged version of the event. The competition debuted as a men’s 50-over event at the 1998 Kuala Lumpur Games and only returned to the games in 2022 as the Women’s T20I competition.
The addition of the sport was viewed as a positive development, and the competition, which Australia won, was an exciting display of ability. It is assumed that there is not enough funding to have a lavish event, although the Commonwealth Games Federation (CGF) has not issued a formal statement or given a clear explanation for the omission.
Field hockey, badminton, shooting, and wrestling have also been excluded, which is a blatant indication that money is driving this choice. It is anticipated that host cities will find it simpler to control costs with fewer disciplines, which is a major issue for the Games as the economic environment becomes more challenging.
Cricket’s prominence on the international scene is unrelated to its exclusion from the 2026 Commonwealth Games. After a 128-year break, cricket will return to the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028. Both men’s and women’s T20 formats will be available, and the USA, which co-hosted the most recent T20 World Cup, is more than eager to accommodate both teams and fans.
Track and field-only athletics and para-athletics, The only sports on exhibit will be swimming and paraswimming, artistic gymnastics, track and para-track cycling, netball, weightlifting and para-powerlifting, boxing, judo, bowls and para-bowls, 3×3 basketball, and wheelchair basketball.
