8. Cricket
Common criticisms of cricket are that is both too dull and too long, making it uninteresting to spectators. Both of these issues have been addressed by the International Cricket Council in an attempt to make their sport more appealing - the one day international was created in the 1970s as an alternative to test matches, which are only open to a select few nations (such as England, Australia, South Africa and India) and can take days to finish. More recently, however, the world of cricket has seen the introduction of Twenty20, which would fit perfectly into the Olympic programme. Featuring just 20 overs and completed in about three hours, the game is faster and more engaging that its traditional counterpart, which has been contested at the Olympics just once, way back in 1900. The inclusion of a sport hugely popular on the Indian subcontinent would also greatly increase the appeal of the Olympics in a region where success has been limited India won just six medals, none of them gold, at London 2012, despite being home to some 17% of the worlds population, whilst Pakistans last medal came in 1992 and Bangladesh have yet to ever win one. Increasing the popularity of the games should always be on the IOCs agenda, even if only to benefit from the worlds fastest growing markets to improve their revenue stream, and though Twenty20 cricket is currently played competitively by only 17 nations, its inclusion at the Olympics would create interest for the game in a multitude of others.