Hyderabad: Batting stalwart Virat Kohli was considered to be the face of cricket in the Olympics to promote the sport across the globe. But, in a significant development, Los Angeles 2028 (LA28) Olympics have used India batter KL Rahul's photo as their poster image on cricket segment.
Cricket’s return to the Olympics after 128 years was confirmed in October 2023, alongside the inclusion of five additional sports for the Los Angeles Games – baseball/softball, flag football, lacrosse (sixes) and squash. The event will be played in T20 format for both men's and women's categories, featuring only six teams each, allowing each nation to field a squad of up to 15 players.
KL RAHUL'S PICTURE IN CRICKET AT LA28 OLYMPICS WEBSITE.
— Tanuj (@ImTanujSingh) May 21, 2025
- Class KL, The Superstar! 🌟 pic.twitter.com/9znhDyzFQW
Kohli, who has already retired from T20I and Test cricket, has had huge impact across the world that even legends from other sports are aware of his legacy. With 550 international matches across formats, 27599 runs, 82 hundreds and 143 fifties, the 36-year-old has give uncountable moments to cherish, remember for the ages to the society be it as a cricketer, captain and leader. He was someone who told cricketing fraternity including players that fitness is also an integral part.
"My friend Virat Kohli has 340 million Social Media followers, making him the third most followed athlete - surpassing combined numbers of LeBron James (NBA basketball star), Tom Brady (American football icon) and Tiger Woods (American golf legend). It is a win-win situation for LA28, IOC and cricket community as cricket will be showcased on a global stage, in order to grow it beyond traditional cricketing nations and give it access to untapped communities of athletes and fans," Niccolo Campriani, the Sports Director of the Los Angeles 2028 Organising Committee, said during the IOC session.
Meanwhile, KL Rahul, a prominent figure in Indian cricket, featuring on LA28 Cricket achieves a memorable feat. but, interestingly, Rahul has not played a T20I match for India since 2022 T20 World Cup semi-final against England in Australia. He is not even in the team India's scheme of things.
KL Rahul has played 72 T20I matches for India where has amassed 2265 runs at an average of 37.75 while striking at 139.12 with the help of 2 hundreds and 22 fifties. He is currently, the fourth leading run scorer for India in shortest format of the game. He has hit fourth most sixes (99) for India in T20I cricket.
