Anaya Bangar criticises BCCI silence after Cricket Australia clears community cricket pathway
Anaya Bangar said on 2026-08-28 that Cricket Australia has cleared her to play women's community cricket in Australia, while the BCCI did not respond to her request for clarity on continuing her cricketing career. "...it is very disappointing and heartbreaking that I was served with silence,” Anaya said in an interview with PTI.
The 25-year-old began her transition in 2022 and underwent gender-affirming surgery in March this year, and she had hoped the BCCI would provide guidance on her eligibility. Cricket Australia’s transgender and gender-diverse guidelines provide a framework for participation in community cricket, and Bangar has been allowed to compete at that level. Any progression into elite cricket remains subject to the governing body's eligibility requirements.
Cricket Australia’s clearance does not guarantee Bangar a place in a professional team or the Women’s Big Bash League, but it has reopened a route back into competitive cricket after she feared her transition had ended her playing career. The community-level permission restores an opportunity to compete, while selection for higher levels will depend on meeting eligibility criteria.
Addressing the lack of response from the Indian board, Bangar said: "I knew that transitioning was going to make me steer away from cricket...I hope that the BCCI is open to this and tries to form policies surrounding this topic, since I'm the first case in India. "I would be happy to be a part of the team and provide my insights and gatherings throughout my whole journey and what would work best for our country and women's sport in the future,” she told PTI.
Bangar described her personal experience since beginning her transition as a roller-coaster, saying the journey has been particularly challenging for a transgender athlete. "...when you're transitioning, and when you're a trans-athlete, during this political climate in this world, it can get very isolating. You feel very lonely, you feel like there's no one who really understands out there," she said. "Everyone out there is trying to give you solutions, when you know that your own case is the right one. You know what is happening with you is injustice. So, during all of this, just the fact of being with myself, solitude has helped me a lot throughout all this," she added to PTI.
She said she had almost given up on the possibility of playing cricket again after starting her transition, and that she had largely managed the emotional side of the journey herself while remaining grateful to her family for practical support. Anaya said she had been in "survival mode" for a long time and was only now finding the space to process what she had experienced.
Her immediate focus is to play club cricket in Australia, perform well and potentially earn a chance to be picked for the Women’s Big Bash League. For now, she wants to take things one step at a time, with securing a place to play being the biggest hurdle already overcome.