Sachin Tendulkar bats for cricket in Olympics

London: Indian batting legend Sachin Tendulkar has called for cricket to become an Olympic sport.

The former Indian captain and sport's all-time leading run-scorer feels the Twenty20 format would work best in the Summer Games.

"I think it's a great idea and I reckon T20 is the best format for it. It's the most acceptable format for people who don't have any knowledge about cricket or the ones who need an introduction to cricket," he told BBC World Service when asked about his views on the matter.

"The game is over in three hours and it's like any sport - you go to a stadium and after three hours you get back to your work," he said.

Cricket has not featured in the Olympics since 1900, when Great Britain took on France in Paris, but the sport's governing body, International Cricket Council, is meeting the International Olympic Committee next month to discuss a possible bid.

The ICC has resisted attempts to include cricket in the Games in the past over fears that it might dilute existing competitions.

"I'd love to see it as an Olympic sport and, who knows, down the track it might be," Australian bowler Shane Warne told the same radio show called ?Stumped?, to be broadcast on Saturday.

"If it advertises the game of cricket and the skill and athleticism that are involved in a game of cricket then great," he said.

In July, the Marylebone Cricket Club's (MCC) World Cricket Committee called for Twenty20 to be included in the 2024 summer Games.

Following its board meeting in October, the ICC announced that chief executive David Richardson and director Giles Clarke would hold talks with the IOC in November.