Anaya Bangar, the transgender daughter of former India cricketer Sanjay Bangar, has sparked a wave of conversation after releasing personal performance test data in her quest to play women’s cricket. In a move both emotional and scientific, she’s asking the BCCI and ICC to take a second look — not just at her, but at the policies keeping transgender athletes on the sidelines.
The 23-year-old batter, once known as Aryan, shared that she underwent rigorous testing at the Manchester Metropolitan University Institute of Sport earlier this year. From January to March, Anaya trained and tested under medical supervision while on hormone therapy.
“Everything was measured — strength, stamina, oxygen intake, muscle mass. After three months, my numbers matched what you’d see in cisgender female athletes,” she posted online.
Her post wasn’t a rant, nor a demand. It read more like a request — grounded, researched, and personal.
A Cricketer First, Then Everything Else
Before transitioning, Anaya wasn’t just a casual player. She had worn Mumbai colours at the U-16 level, played U-19 for Pondicherry, and had even reached the Mumbai U-23 trials — brushing shoulders with names like Musheer Khan and Yashasvi Jaiswal.
“I’ve shared dressing rooms with some of the guys you now cheer for on TV,” she said in a separate video. “Cricket’s always been my calling.”
What’s changed isn’t her passion, just her path. And now, Anaya wants the right to follow that path on the women’s side — if the data allows it.
The Policy Roadblock
Currently, the International Cricket Council (ICC) bars transgender women who have gone through male puberty from competing at the international level. The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) has gone even stricter, banning trans women from all levels of women’s cricket in the UK.
India, for now, has no clear policy — but that also means no pathway for someone like Anaya.
“This data may not change everything. But maybe, just maybe, it starts a conversation,” she wrote.
Anaya is calling for the BCCI and ICC to sit down with medical experts, athletes, and legal voices to craft something fair — not just inclusive, but competitive too.
Bigger Than Cricket? Maybe. But Still About Cricket
What Anaya has done is rare. She’s brought data to a debate that often drowns in opinions. She’s shared numbers. Oxygen levels. Stamina. Blood stats. And she’s done it not to make headlines, but to make a point.
Cricket, like many sports, is trying to catch up with social change. It’s not easy. And it’s definitely not black and white. But as Anaya says, “There’s a middle ground. We just have to be willing to look for it.”
So far, there’s been no official response from the BCCI or the ICC. But the ball — as they say — is now in their court.
