‘Great day’ says trans athlete Anaya Bangar after Cricket Australia okays participation

Anaya said she wrote to the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) last year to check about eligibility criteria for trans athletes but has not received a reply yet.

In June this year, she reached out to Cricket Australia. In its reply sent on July 20, Cricket Australia told Anaya that while she could start playing community cricket immediately, she would have to fulfil testosterone-related eligibility criteria to qualify for ‘Elite Cricket’ like the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL).

Cricket Australia’s ‘Transgender and Gender Diverse Players in Elite Cricket Policy’ requires a player’s serum testosterone to be below 10 nmol/L (nanomoles per litre) for at least 12 months to be eligible to play.

In 2023, the International Cricket Council (ICC) banned transgender players from the elite women’s game if they have gone through male puberty.

Anaya is the daughter of former Indian cricketer Sanjay Bangar. (Express Photo By Ganesh Shirsekar)

A top BCCI official told The Indian Express that the board has no policy yet on trans women playing women’s cricket. “When it comes to the ICC, they have said no to it. BCCI is yet to decide what can be done in such cases. As this is the first time such a case has come up, the board is yet to take a stand. Especially on allowing them in domestic cricket,” the BCCI official said.

Responding to Anaya’s letter, Cricket Australia’s Head of Integrity, Jacqui Partridge, said: “Until March 2027, you remain eligible to participate in Premier Cricket competitions in any State or Territory of Australia. As Premier Cricket is classified as Community Cricket rather than Elite Cricket under the Policy, your participation in those competitions is not affected by this determination.”

“Your eligibility for Elite Cricket from that date (March 2027) is conditional upon you providing a blood test upon your arrival in Australia confirming that your serum testosterone concentration remains below 10 nmol/L and that you continue to satisfy the Policy’s eligibility requirements,” Partridge said.

“I genuinely couldn’t believe that I’ll be able to play again. Because of Cricket Australia and its progressive and inclusive policies, which focus on fairness and inclusion in women’s sport for trans women, this is a huge milestone, not just for me, but for other athletes like me who want to try but aren’t doing so because they have to either choose the sport or choose transition,” Anaya said.

While she is still recovering from the gender affirming surgery, Anaya said she was in the process of finding a club in Australia to play for.

In a social media post in June last year, Anaya had called for a discussion with BCCI and ICC representatives to discuss a policy for trans athletes, based on data instead of “outdated perceptions”. In the post, Anaya said that she had participated in a research project conducted by the Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport, which covered how hormone therapy affected her strength, stamina, hormone and glucose levels.

“After I published my athlete testing report and everything else, BCCI stayed quiet about it. Whereas Cricket Australia actually read my report, went through all my medical history and had a proper team assessing my case. I approached Cricket Australia and they gave me clearance to play in terms of fairness and inclusivity. They (CA) asked for my blood test report and testosterone test report. They asked for the papers for the surgeries that I’ve done. They asked me for my Manchester University report which I had published over a year ago. If everything goes well and I perform, then I have a chance to play in the WBBL,” Anaya said.

According to Anaya, after years of confusion about her identity, she began the process of transitioning from a man to a woman in 2022. She spoke to counselors who guided her, and then moved to the United Kingdom where she played club cricket and explored hormone replacement therapy.

“Honestly, the journey since the beginning was very painful, not just physically, but emotionally. My whole life changed, family dynamics, friendships, career, social focus, everything changed. And to be honest, I would do this again because transitioning has made me comfortable and happier in my own skin. I wouldn’t trade back for anything else. I would have had to give up cricket as well. And now with Cricket Australia doing this, I am just very happy,” Anaya said.

In an interview to The Indian Express last year, Anaya had spoken about the changes post-hormone therapy. “I could feel my energy levels being stable all the time as a man and I was definitely much stronger. Now, my heart feels weaker, my bones are weaker, and muscle strength has gone down. And that’s difficult for an athlete. The downside of it is that even if I wanted to, I just cannot face bowling at 140 kph.”