Australia’s early exit from the T20 World Cup in Sri Lanka is not just a failure of the tournament. This could get him a place in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. Before the start of T20 World Cup 2026, Australia was far ahead of New Zealand in the ICC rankings.
Australia’s early exit from the T20 World Cup 2026 has opened the door for New Zealand to enter the race for Olympic qualification.
In fact, the ICC T20I rankings will decide which teams will get automatic entry for cricket’s big return to the Olympics at the 2028 Summer Games. But Australia have opened the door for New Zealand after getting out early, reports The Sydney Morning Herald. Now the Black Caps have a real chance to move forward.
If New Zealand reaches the semi-finals or goes further in the ongoing T20 World Cup 2026, they can secure direct qualification for the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. New Zealand has a very strong history in T20 events. They reached the semi-finals in 2007, 2016, 2021 and 2022.
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So this is not an impossible task for them. If New Zealand qualifies directly, Australia will be pushed into a tougher qualification tournament. Only six men’s teams will play in Los Angeles. This means Australia will have to battle other second-place regional teams for the last remaining spot.
Changes in ICC rankings may push Australia into tough competition
The ICC has decided that the rankings at the end of this T20 World Cup 2026 will count for Olympic qualification, with final approval from the IOC still pending.
The sport will return to the Olympics for the first time in more than 100 years. Top Australian stars including Steve Smith and Pat Cummins have openly expressed interest in playing in the Olympics.
Recently, Smith said, “My main goal is to get on the team when the Olympics come around. I’m looking forward to doing that. It would be great. So, keep doing what I’m doing, and you never know.”
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It would be a big shame for Australia not to participate in the Olympics
For Australia, missing out on the Olympics would be a major embarrassment, as Cricket Australia has worked for years to bring cricket back into the sport.
Philip Pope, author of the 2007 CA report, said, “Those of us who spent 20 years fighting against the odds to get cricket back on the Olympic program for the first time in more than a century will regard it as mismanagement of great proportions for Australia to fail to qualify for the world’s biggest sporting event in the world’s biggest market.”
Cricket will also be included in the 2032 Brisbane Olympics, and India may also host the Games in 2036. But right now, Australia’s focus is on survival, as their Olympic dream is in grave danger.
Ricky Ponting criticizes Australia after T20 World Cup 2026 disaster
Meanwhile, legendary Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting was not too worried about the Kangaroos’ campaign in the T20 World Cup 2026, but criticized them for their poor performance.
Ponting said in the ICC review: “It’s been a really poor campaign, it has to be said. They had some injury concerns early on, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins were ruled out and then Tim David was also not available early on.
But I think losing to Zimbabwe, like they did, that’s the game they’ll look back on and think, like, “That’s our World Cup gone, there and then.”
