Anaya Bangar cleared to play women's cricket in Australia from March 2027; BCCI rules bar India selection
Anaya Bangar, the child of former India coach Sanjay Bangar, has been cleared by Cricket Australia to compete in women's cricket in Australia from March 2027 after undergoing gender-affirming surgery and embracing her identity as a woman. Under current Board of Control for Cricket in India and International Cricket Council regulations, however, transgender women who experienced male puberty are not permitted to play women's international cricket for India.
Several cricket governing bodies maintain policies that do not permit transgender women who have gone through male puberty to compete in women’s cricket; the BCCI follows the ICC on this matter and India’s domestic competitions align with the same regulations. Cricket Australia operates a different policy, allowing transgender cricketers to participate at elite level provided they meet its eligibility conditions and specific testosterone-related criteria. Cricket Australia has confirmed Anaya Bangar’s eligibility to play competitive women’s cricket in Australia from March 2027, contingent on meeting those requirements.
Cricket Australia’s framework requires transgender players to satisfy eligibility and testosterone-related standards before selection for elite women’s competitions, a threshold Anaya will need to meet to be considered for domestic teams such as the Women’s Big Bash League. The article states that she will need to fulfil the testosterone-related eligibility criteria to play in the WBBL and that Cricket Australia allows transgender cricketers to participate in elite-level cricket if they meet its eligibility and testosterone-related criteria.
Anaya has said her immediate objective is to win a place in a WBBL side and prove her value at that level; the report notes several Indian players — Harmanpreet Kaur, Smriti Mandhana and Jemimah Rodrigues — have previously played in the WBBL and that Anaya would like to join their ranks. Fans have been asking whether her clearance in Australia creates a path to the Indian Women’s Cricket Team, but the BCCI’s alignment with ICC rules means current national selection regulations would prevent that outcome.
On her personal response to the clearance, Anaya told Bombay Times: “I am now eligible to play in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) in Australia from March 2027 onwards. For me, this is incredibly emotional because there was a point when I genuinely believed I had lost cricket forever. Cricket has been such a fundamental part of my identity since childhood, and having to step away from the sport after my transition was one of the hardest things I experienced. “So this isn’t simply about being included in a women’s league. It represents the possibility of returning to the sport I deeply love.” Ananya told Bombay Times. “Cricket Australia has allowed me to pursue elite women’s cricket in Australia. The next challenge is to get myself into the best possible physical and competitive shape and put myself in a position to be considered by a WBBL franchise. I still have to train, compete, perform and earn that opportunity,” she concluded.
Although Cricket Australia has authorised her to return to competitive women’s cricket in Australia from March 2027, the BCCI’s adherence to ICC rules means she would not be eligible to represent the Indian Women’s Cricket Team under current regulations; her immediate, confirmed next steps are to meet Cricket Australia’s eligibility and testosterone-related criteria and to compete for selection by a WBBL franchise.