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Anaya Bangar: ‘BCCI should follow what Cricket Australia has done’
Anaya Bangar gets clearance to play women’s cricket in Australia from 2027, hopes BCCI follows suit and opens doors for transgender cricketers in India
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As she prepares to move to Australia to begin cricket training, trans cricketer Anaya Bangar, hopes the approval she has received to play elite-level women’s cricket there will pave the way for greater inclusion in India. The 25-year-old, daughter of former India cricketer and coach Sanjay Bangar, received clearance from Cricket Australia (CA) in August to compete in women’s cricket from March 2027.
Despite facing online criticism over her participation in women’s cricket in Australia, Anaya says trolls cannot understand her journey. “They haven’t experienced what I have,” she says. She hopes the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI) will follow CA’s lead. “If BCCI can follow what Australia has done, that would be a wonderful thing,” she adds. Her approval came under CA’s policy on the inclusion of transgender and gender-diverse players in elite cricket.
Anaya, who underwent gender-affirming surgery in March, says her transition was difficult for her family to accept, leaving her without financial support for the procedures. “I tried my hardest to get some therapy, but I wasn’t getting any support for surgeries,” she recalls. Anaya eventually funded her first two surgeries through brand collaborations on social media.
