Cricket's Presence at the Paris Olympics

 Cricket wasn't featured at the Paris Olympics, but it will be included in the 2028 Games. Despite its absence as an event, cricket's influence was felt indirectly in Paris. Some athletes had previously played cricket, others have family members who currently play, and some are children of former cricketers.

Remarkably, three of these athletes with cricket connections won medals at this year's Olympics.

Arshad Nadeem made history at this year's Olympics by securing Pakistan's first individual gold medal. This achievement marks Pakistan's first Olympic medal in 32 years.

Like many others in the subcontinent, Nadeem's sports started with cricket. As a child, Nadeem played football and table tennis as well as cricket. At one stage he focused on becoming a professional cricketer. However, after catching the eye of coach Rashid Ahmed Saki, Nadeem had to concentrate on javelin.

Ray Benjamin

Ray Benjamin of the United States won gold in the boys' 400m hurdles. He was also part of the gold-winning boys' 4x400m relay team. He also won one gold and one silver in the last Tokyo Olympics. Benjamin, who pursued a career in track and field athletics, hails from a cricketing family. His father Winston Benjamin is a former West Indies cricketer. The pacer from Antigua played 106 international matches between 1986 and 1995. Later worked as a coach of the first class cricket team Leeward Iceland.

Rajindra Campbell

Jamaica's Rajindra Campbell won bronze in the boys' shot put. Although Jamaica's name has been mentioned many times on the Olympic stage thanks to Usain Bolt, this is the first time that someone from the country has won a medal in the shot put. However, none of Rajindra's family are cricketers. But his name comes from a cricketer.

In an interview with Sportster, the Jamaican athlete told the history of his name and said, 'The name Rajindra is commonly seen among Indian-Caribbean people. My name Rajindra came from my father's choice. He was a fan of a West Indies cricketer (leg spinner Rajindra Dhanraj) in the nineties. From there my name is Rajindri.' Rajindra Dhanraj's career is limited to only 4 Tests and 6 ODIs, but his name has spread beyond cricket.

Brendan Starc

Australia has sent a total of 78 players in various disciplines to Paris. Among them is high jumper Brendan Starc. He is a relative of Australian national cricket team pacer Mitchell Starc. Mitchell Starc, who has taken more than 650 wickets in three editions for Australia, is Brendan's brother.

Mitchell's wife and Brendan's sister-in-law Alyssa Healy is a player in the Australian women's cricket team. However, Brendan did not win a medal in Paris. Finished sixth in Group B qualifying.