Anaya Bangar confirmed clearance from CA to play community women's cricket in Australia.
This also means that Bangar, who transitioned from male to female, will be eligible to play in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL). Bangar attested to receiving official correspondence from Cricket Australia on her community cricket involvement status.
Anaya, who had gender-affirming surgery in Thailand earlier this year, said she was relieved to be able to play competitive cricket again and that she was looking for a club in Australia.
“It is a great day for me, especially after knowing that I can play cricket. There was a stage when I thought I would never play cricket again, but thanks to Cricket Australia, it has given me another chance,” Anaya had stated in a press conference in Mumbai.
Anaya Bangar had approached the BCCI to play women’s cricket in India but received no formal response. She then moved to Cricket Australia, which cleared the way for her to play in women’s community cricket.
Reacting to this news, Marizanne Kapp expressed anger at the decision and voiced strong opposition to Cricket Australia's decision to clear transgender cricketer Anaya Bangar to compete in women’s cricket locally and potentially play in the WBBL.
Marizanne has represented South Africa in four Tests, 162 ODIs, and 126 T20Is so far and expressed her displeasure on her Instagram account.
“Absolutely ridiculous, this should NOT be allowed!” Kapp wrote on Instagram while sharing a screenshot of a news article detailing the clearance granted to Anaya and also tagged the official handle of the WBBL.
Anaya had played age-group cricket for Mumbai with Test batsman Sarfaraz Khan and his brother Musheer Khan before changing from a man to a woman. She had also played club cricket in England.