Cricket in the Olympics would be amazing: Australian Women's captain Meg Lanning

The International Cricket Council (ICC) is doing its best to have cricket included at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

Cricket, played at the 1900 Olympics, has its hopes pinned on the upcoming Commonwealth Games 2022 to attract audiences and increase its popularity in non-cricketing countries.

Australian skipper Meg Lanning believes that cricket in the Olympics would be amazing and provide a platform for the sport to reach wider audiences.

Speaking to BBC Sport, Lanning said: "Cricket in the Olympics would be amazing. Especially for the game as well, to reach a new audience.

It would allow different people to see that game would really help the growth of it in other countries around the world, and particularly for women."

It will be the second time that cricket will feature in the Commonwealth Games, the first time being at the 1998 edition, held in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Lanning will look to better Steve Waugh and his team's record of claiming a silver medal from '98.

The 30-year-old spoke about how she might never get to feature in the Olympics but was hopeful of it becoming a reality someday.

"I'm not really sure what it takes to get it into the Olympics, but from the perspective of players, it would be amazing. It's something I'd love to do but I think if it was going to happen, it will probably be once I've finished up playing," Lanning said.

For now, Lanning and the rest of the Australia team are gunning for gold in the Birmingham games that begin on July 28.

"We're looking at it as a very unique opportunity. We want to win that gold medal. Our group is really excited about it. It's a new challenge, and I think it comes at a really good time for our team," she concluded.

Australia will take on India in the tournament opener on July 29.