Trans Cricketer Anaya Ready To Write Her Own Scoreboard

Cricket is in Anaya Bangar’s blood. Daughter of former Indian cricketer Sanjay Bangar, she grew up on the maidans of Mumbai – Cross Maidan, Azad Maidan, Shivaji Park – as someone everyone knew as the graceful boy Aryan, a talented left-handed batsman. But behind the pads, she was fighting a silent battle to become her real self.

After years of hiding who she was, she chose courage over comfort and Aryan became Anaya. Today, she is one of the first Indian-origin transgender cricketers to dream of playing professional women’s cricket and challenge the BCCI and ICC to create space for trans athletes.

New home down under

As someone eligible to enter the Australian women’s circuit, Anaya finds herself at the centre of conversations across two countries. “A few Australian clubs have reached out and we are talking. But for me, it’s not just about getting a contract, it’s about finding a home — a club that sees me as Anaya the cricketer, not just a headline and gives me a chance to wear their colours in the upcoming season,” she says.

In Australia, community cricket is fully inclusive with no requirement to play as your affirmed gender. In elite domestic cricket, the policy allows trans women to play if they show testosterone below 10 nmol/L for 12 months continuously, live consistently in their affirmed gender and are cleared by an expert panel on fairness — the pathway through which she has been cleared for state-level cricket.

At the international level, however, the ICC currently bans trans women who have been through any part of male puberty from women’s internationals. “

Box: “In Australia too, reactions have been divided. Some far-right media has given it a negative spin. people SHOULD look at scientific evidence & DECIDE.”

Relearning her game

The real test, she says, will be back in the nets. “Growing up as a cricketer teaches you to survive tough conditions. I’ve played club and state cricket across Mumbai and India on all kinds of pitches. The biggest adjustment now will be adapting to Australian wickets and that extra bounce. It’s about small technical tweaks and also understanding my body because it’s changed a lot, so I have to figure out what I can and can’t do anymore,” she shares.

Her current training is about relearning and rebuilding. “I am still in the recovery phase post-surgery. The heavy lifting hasn’t started yet. Over the next month, the plan is to slowly build back my strength and stamina. Right now, I have just eased into light workouts, mainly focusing on glutes, core stability and flexibility, because that’s the foundation I need before I can push harder.”

Focus of attention

Her first competitive match is expected to attract far more attention than an ordinary Premier Cricket fixture. “I know all eyes will be on me and that the attention will come with both love and criticism. But as long as I am living my truth openly and if that journey inspires even a few people out there, then I have already won,” she says.

On entering a system without years of local relationships, she adds, “The biggest shift will be adjusting to the culture in Australia because I’ve never been there as a cricketer before. I genuinely want to mingle, connect with people and build real friendships off the field. At the end of the day, I am just looking forward to being out there again, back on the pitch where I belong.”

She adds, “I never walk onto the field thinking I have to score a certain number of runs or put up a specific performance. My only intention is to help the team win and that’s the mindset I’ll carry into the games in Australia too. The scoreboard itself isn’t what matters, it’s the intent to win the match. If good numbers come along with that, it’s a bonus.”

Pressure of reality TV

Anaya stepped into the spotlight on Amazon MX Player’s reality show Rise and Fall, hosted by Ashneer Grover. Inside the house, she spoke about the weight of playing cricket while hiding her identity, the shock of receiving an explicit DM from a well-known cricketer right after coming out, the `50 lakh cost of her surgery and the strange duality of hate in comments and 30,000-40,000 marriage proposals in her DMs. “Jumping into reality TV right after my first two surgeries wasn’t easy. I was still figuring out my own body, still processing all the changes. And to do that while being on camera 24x7, surrounded by people, you become hyper-aware of yourself. Everything feels so new because of your transition. So it was definitely a learning curve,” she recalls.

A policy that’s fair

On what she wants from Indian cricket’s governing body, Anaya is very clear. “I want clarity and a clear policy from the BCCI, whether it’s inclusion or exclusion. And I hope they move in the right direction. If given a chance, I would love to be on that panel, to bring in all the research and findings I’ve gathered over the years and help create a long-term solution for people like us in cricket, especially in the women’s game. Whatever policy is made, it should be built on principle, dignity and absolute fairness for every athlete.”

But, for now, Anaya says, the best answer to every question regarding her place in the sport will be on the scorecard.

Box: If India takes the lead and builds a real platform for trans cricket, it will be about reclaiming dignity. For many trans persons, life still narrows down to surviving on the margins. A cricket field can change that.