The curious case of Anaya Bangar and trans women in cricket

In September this year, when Aryan, the son of former Indian cricketer and coach Sanjay Bangar, shared a transformation journey in a social media post, not very many took note.

But over the past 24 hours, ever since the media got wind of the development, the news has spread like wildfire.

The 23-year old cricketer, through hormone replacement therapy, now identifies as Anaya Bangar, a transwoman.

The transformation aside, what caught the attention of netizens was Anaya’s desperate plea to the administrators that govern the game.

“What hurts more is that there are no proper regulations for trans women in cricket,” she wrote in the post.

She revealed that her testosterone levels ‘are down to 0.5 nmol, the lowest it can be for an average cisgender woman,’ and yet professional cricket refuses to accept her.

The reason for this is the staunch stand of the International Cricket Council (ICC) towards transgender players.

The case for a ban

In November 2023, the ICC revised its rules stating that any player that has been through male puberty of any form and thereafter, transitioned to female, would not be permitted to play international cricket even if they had undergone ‘gender reassignment treatment.’

This rule has essentially banned trans women from donning the colours for their women’s national team.

In Article 3 of the Player Eligibility Regulations, the ICC cites the protection of ‘the integrity of the women’s game’, ‘health and safety of participants’ and ‘fair and meaningful competition’ as the reasons for the said rules.

Furthermore, the ICC explains that owing to the ‘size, strength and power enjoyed (on average) by males over females from puberty onwards (due in large part to much higher levels of androgenic hormones)’ it finds the move imperative to maintain an absolute binary on the gender front for international cricket.

And what about the low testosterone levels that Anaya was referring to?

While she does make a valid argument, ICC’s Article 3 has a clause to negate that as well.

Puberty, the key-word

Anaya claims that her 0.5 nmol testosterone levels are significantly low.

An internet search reveals that the normal levels of testosterone in women are between 0.5 and 2.4 nanomoles per liter (nmol/L).

In fact, the ICC goes to the extent of mentioning that since puberty, a male-to-female transgender player ‘must have continuously maintained the concentration of testosterone in her serum below 2.5 nmol/L for so long as she continues to compete in the female category of competition.’

While Anaya’s nmol levels are visibly lower, the real showstopper for her cricketing ambitions is ICC’s Article 3.7.2 which states that male-to-female Transgender Players ‘must not have experienced any part of male puberty either beyond Tanner Stage 2 or after age 12 (whichever comes first).’

Interestingly, Article 3.7.2 is a new amendment made in September 2024. In the 2021 amendment, the ICC had no such puberty-related clause.

Having played junior cricket as a young boy, Anaya recognizes ICC’s Article 3.7.2 as one that will never allow her to harbour ambitions of playing for India.

What’s more, with the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) following ICC’s lead and enforcing a ban on transgender women from playing top-flight cricket in that country, the England-based Anaya’s international dreams have further been dented.

If anything, there is but a glimmer of hope still left for Anaya.

Relegated to recreational cricket

The ICC has stated that they will review the rules in two years’ time.

Trans women can hope than in time, the puberty-clause is softened, for articles 3D and 3E already outline detailed measures as to how trans women, if they are able to maintain ‘the concentration of testosterone in their serum below 2.5 nmol/L’ can actually pass the assessment of an expert panel and become eligible to play international cricket.

Also, while the ECB bars trans women from playing topflight domestic cricket, including the marquee T20 tournament The Hundred, transgender women are permitted to play in tier three of the domestic structure, which includes lower-level counties, and recreational cricket.

This is owing to article 3.5 where the ICC recommends that the cricket federations the world over follow the prescribed article 3 that outlines ‘eligibility on the basis of gender recognition’ for conducting national championships.

And it is purely due to this clause that Anaya cites her inability to play professional cricket: “I still don’t have a place to represent my country or play at a professional level as my authentic self.”

For now, the path to international cricket is clearly non-existent for Anaya.

And for trans women like her, professional cricket, remains elusive if not a distant dream, governed by metrics like puberty and testosterone levels.