Who is Anaya Bangar, and what are her allegations against Indian cricketers?
Anaya Bangar is the daughter of Sanjay Bangar, a former Indian cricketer, coach and commentator.
Anaya Bangar recently made headlines after claiming that the Indian men’s cricket ecosystem was unwelcoming and hostile during her transition to a woman.
In a promotional clip from an interview on the YouTube channel Lallantop, she levelled several serious allegations against the Indian cricket system, including that some cricketers sent her nude photos after she came out as a transgender woman.
Here's everything we know about Anaya Bangar
Anaya Bangar, is the child of Sanjay Bangar, who was a member of the Indian national cricket team, a coach and also a commentator for the sport.
The 23-year-old currently lives in Manchester, UK, but originally hails from Mumbai, Maharashtra.
She previously represented Islam Gymkhana in local club cricket. She has also played for the Hinckley Cricket Club in Leicestershire.
In 2024, she shared on her YouTube channel that she had moved to the UK to receive gender re-assignment surgery, and for the past year, had been undergoing hormone replacement therapy.
In an series of Instagram posts, she said that she had always loved playing cricket and following in her father's footsteps, however, she felt that she was living a “double life” playing on a boys cricket team.
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"For me it was when I was eight or nine years old, I used to pick clothes from my mom's cupboard and wear them. Then, I used to look into the mirror and say, 'I am a girl. I want to be a girl'," Anaya said in her Lallantop interview.
She also stated that her passion for cricket continues, however, it has been difficult as a trans woman to play on a team due to a lack of rules accommodating them.
She urged lawmakers to devise policies that “don't make athletes choose between their passion and identity.”
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When the ICC announced that transgender athletes would not be allowed in women's cricket, she shared her disappointment and also corrected people who assumed that she had transitioned to be able to win in women's cricket matches.
In a video on her YouTube channel she said, “If I wanted to play cricket, it would have been easier to do so on a men's team. I transitioned because it is who I am, and it has nothing to do with how I play cricket.”
What did Anaya reveal about Indian cricketers?
In her first interview since her transition, Anaya Bangar, alleged that she had faced harassment since coming out as a trans woman, especially from other Indian cricketers.
"I have played with some well-known cricketers like Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. I had to maintain secrecy about myself because dad is a well known figure. Cricket world is filled with insecurity and toxic masculinity," she said.
She added, "There have been a few cricketers who randomly sent me nude pictures of them."
Anaya also claimed that one person used to allegedly curse at her publicly and then would ask for her pictures. She also alleged that a veteran cricketer had asked her to sleep with him.
