Cricket Australia Clears Transgender Cricketer Anaya Bangar for Women’s Premier Cricket

Cricket Australia (CA) has cleared transgender cricketer Anaya Bangar to compete immediately in Australian women’s Premier Cricket, despite having previously gone through male puberty and played boys’ age-group cricket in Mumbai.

Under CA’s current policy, Premier Cricket is classified as a community-level competition, allowing players to participate according to their gender identity without requiring medical or hormone-related evidence.

From March 2027, Bangar could also become eligible for elite domestic women’s competitions, including the Women’s National Cricket League (WNCL) and potentially the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL), provided she meets CA’s eligibility requirements. These include maintaining testosterone levels below 10 nmol/L for at least 12 months.

The decision differs from the policy adopted by the International Cricket Council (ICC). Following a review of the available evidence, the ICC ruled that players who have experienced male puberty are not eligible to participate in international women’s cricket, regardless of subsequent testosterone suppression. The policy was introduced with considerations including competitive fairness, safety and the integrity of women’s cricket.

England has also adopted a similar male-puberty-based eligibility standard for professional domestic women’s cricket.

The contrasting policies have sparked debate over whether eligibility standards should be consistent across community, domestic and international levels of the sport.

Supporters of stricter eligibility rules argue that physiological advantages associated with male puberty may persist despite hormone suppression, while advocates of inclusion maintain that transgender athletes should be able to participate in sport in accordance with their gender identity.

The differing approaches taken by Cricket Australia and the ICC are likely to continue fuelling discussion about how cricket can balance inclusion with competitive fairness in women’s competitions.