Cricket Australia confirms Anaya Bangar eligible for elite women's cricket in Australia from March 2027
Cricket Australia has confirmed in a letter dated August 20 that Anaya Bangar will be eligible to take part in elite women's cricket in Australia from March 2027, and Bangar shared images of that official statement on her social media account.
Cricket Australia issued an eligibility determination on July 20 and, in the August 20 letter, CA Head of Integrity Jacqui Partridge stated that Bangar’s eligibility would not be affected by amendments to the governing body's transgender and gender-diverse player policy. CA said its decision was based on medical information supplied by Bangar, including the timing of her testosterone suppression treatment and definitive surgery. The determination also requires Bangar to continue to meet CA’s eligibility requirements.
Under CA’s policy for players competing in the female category of elite cricket, competitors must maintain a serum testosterone concentration below 10 nmol/L continuously for at least 12 months. As part of the clearance, Bangar will be required to provide a blood test on arrival in Australia confirming she remains within the specified threshold. Those medical and testing conditions form the basis of the eligibility decision communicated by CA.
The Women’s Big Bash League is classified by CA as elite cricket, which creates a potential pathway for Bangar to play in that competition from March 2027, but the clearance does not guarantee a WBBL contract. CA noted that she will need to return to competitive cricket, rebuild her fitness and form, and impress a franchise before securing a deal. The governing body’s letter therefore establishes eligibility without promising selection or employment.
Bangar is eligible to participate in Premier Cricket competitions in any Australian state or territory because those competitions are classified as community cricket. She previously played age-group cricket in Mumbai. “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,” Bangar said to Bombay Times.
Cricket Australia’s policy differs from the International Cricket Council’s regulations for international women’s cricket, which do not allow transgender women who have undergone male puberty to compete in elite international women’s cricket. That distinction means CA’s clearance applies to domestic elite competitions under its jurisdiction rather than to ICC-governed international selection.
Bangar’s eligibility to play elite women's cricket in Australia begins in March 2027; in the interim she may participate in Premier Cricket competitions in any Australian state or territory while working to meet CA’s ongoing eligibility conditions and restore competitive readiness.
