Ponting expects Twenty20 to be Olympic event

0 Comments | AFP, August, 2008

SYDNEY (AFP) — Australian captain Ricky Ponting said Wednesday it is only a matter of time before Twenty20 cricket is part of the Olympic Games.

Just days after the completion of the Beijing Games, Ponting said it was "inevitable" the game's newest form would become an Olympic event given its popularity in the sub-continent.

Ponting, who also called for a portion of the international cricket calendar to be kept free for Twenty20 tournaments, was speaking here Wednesday night at a dinner to celebrate 100 years since the birth of Donald Bradman.

"I actually think it's inevitable Twenty20 cricket will be an Olympic sport," Ponting said.

"You think about the audiences in the sub-continent, 22 or 23 per cent of the world's population is based in that...