Anaya Bangar, an Indian transgender cricketer, was recently cleared by Cricket Australia to compete in community cricket, and potentially elite cricket from March 2027. She joined the latest episode of The Scoop to share her story.
Bangar played age-group cricket in Mumbai, but her options to turn professional were severely limited after her transition, and more so after ICC’s ruling in 2023 which barred players who had gone through male puberty from participating in women’s cricket
The ICC statement read: “The new policy is based on the following principles (in order of priority), protection of the integrity of the women’s game, safety, fairness and inclusion, and this means any Male to Female participants who have been through any form of male puberty will not be eligible to participate in the international women’s game regardless of any surgery or gender reassignment treatment they may have undertaken.”
But, stressing that she has no unfair advantage and has scientific backing, Bangar said: “I've always stood for case-by-case inclusion because, again, I believe in fairness and dignity of women's sport, and I wouldn't want to just get into that knowing that I have an unfair advantage. I've got scientific evidence backing my case. This isn't just coming from personal opinions or feelings.”
Anaya Bangar: CA's clearance has given me hope that I can play cricket as who I am
Cricket Australia’s clearance has handed Anaya’s cricketing career a new lease of life, when at one point it seemed she wouldn’t be able to play professional cricket. “This decision has basically given me my life back,” she said. “It's given me hope that I can still do and play cricket as who I truly am. And I think that's the best thing that could ever happen to me, because for me, even if I don't get to play international cricket at this point of life, I'm still okay getting to play cricket as who I am, which is great.”
Explaining the CA’s procedure, Bangar, the daughter of former India all-rounder and coach Sanjay Bangar, explained that she will initially start playing community cricket, as “regardless of hormone therapy or not, you're allowed to play community cricket, regardless of any surgeries or any hormone replacement therapy that you've gone through.”
“So it's based on the utmost respect towards one's gender identity,” she added. “And for elite cricket levels, they'll basically have set guidelines stating that you need to suppress your testosterone for a certain period of time, and then you'll basically be eligible to play Women's Big Bash League or anything else of that part.”
She continued: “In my case, what Cricket Australia did was they assessed my hormone therapy levels. They assessed the testosterone levels. They went through all my surgery papers, and along with that I had done a study with Manchester University as well. They did testing on my body after being on testosterone suppressants and HRT for a year, and they conducted a 12-week-long research study, stating and collecting data based on my physical athletic capabilities.
“They compared that data with the cisgender female parameters that were already set, and it all fell within that range or it was on par. After doing those tests and going through all that, I sent out all these papers to Cricket Australia, and they judged my case, forming a panel. And they concluded that by March 2027, which is after I complete my one year of gender reassignment surgery, is when they'll check my testosterone levels for a blood test, and after that I'll be eligible to play.”
Also read: Ten nightmare English summers: Can Pakistan avoid being the worst tourists in fifty years?
Bangar on Kapp's question: "It's not that black and white"
South Africa all-rounder Marizanne Kapp had questioned CA’s decision to give Bangar a pathway back into competitive cricket, posting on Instagram: “Absolutely ridiculous, this should not be allowed.”
Bangar felt since there is very limited knowledge of trans issues that “people assume that the strength levels that you have gained from male puberty, they still remain the same, which is not the case for each trans woman out there.”
“So again, I think it's just about people being aware and educated about this topic rather than coming to straight-up conclusions surrounding the fact that, okay, this would be unfair. It's not that black and white,” she concluded.
Follow Wisden for all cricket updates, including live scores, match stats, quizzes and more. Stay up to date with the latest cricket news, player updates, team standings, match highlights, video analysis and live match odds.
