The two countries have shared the biggest crowds in the sport for decades but have never faced each other at the Olympic Games. Cricket’s last appearance on the program was in 1900, long before either nation existed in its modern form.

That changes in Los Angeles. The International Cricket Council has confirmed a six-team event in both the men’s and the women’s draw, with 90 athlete quotas per gender and squads of up to 15 players. All matches will be staged at a purpose-built ground at the Fairplex in Pomona, east of Los Angeles.

A six-team draw, four matches to a medal

The format is tight. Teams will be split into two groups of three. Each side plays the two others in its group, then two further fixtures against opponents from the other group that did not finish in the same position. The top two finishers in the resulting table contest the gold medal; third and fourth play off for bronze.

Even if both qualify, the draw can keep India and Pakistan apart in the group stage and only line them up in a medal play-off.

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Why Pakistan cannot qualify on rankings alone

Qualification for five of the six men’s places runs through the ICC T20I rankings on 31 December 2026, with one spot held for the highest-ranked team from each of Asia, Africa, Europe and Oceania, and a host-nation slot for the United States if its men’s or women’s side sits inside the global top 15 during the qualification window.

On the ICC T20I table in October 2026, England sit top globally, with India second, Australia third and Pakistan sixth. That gap is the problem for Pakistan: with India comfortably ahead of them in Asia, Pakistan cannot take the continental spot through rankings alone.

Their route runs instead through the ICC Olympics Qualifier in 2027, a new eight-team tournament that will decide the final place in each of the men’s and women’s events. The ICC has confirmed that the “sixth and final places in both the Men’s and Women’s competitions will be determined through the new ICC Olympics Qualifier, which will take place in 2027.”

Four women’s spots already filled

The women’s draw is further along. Australia, Great Britain, India and South Africa have already secured places as the highest-finishing eligible teams at the Women’s T20 World Cup 2026. Two spots remain, one through the regional rankings route and one through the qualifier.

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The men’s tournament runs from 22 to 29 July 2028 and the women’s from 12 to 20 July, with 28 matches scheduled across the two draws. The next concrete marker is 31 December 2026, when the T20I rankings freeze and the first five men’s qualifiers are locked in.

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