Transgender women are not allowed to play in international women’s cricket matches, according to new rules from the International Cricket Council (ICC).
According to the reports, regardless of whatever operations or treatments they may have received, players who have gone through male puberty will not be allowed to compete in women’s international championships.
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has declared that a review of the recently enacted norms will take place in two years. Following a comprehensive nine-month consultation process, the governing body has immediately put its revised policy into force, placing a strong emphasis on preserving the integrity of women’s sports while also taking safety, equity, and inclusion into account.
“The changes to the gender eligibility regulations resulted from an extensive consultation process and are founded in science and aligned with the core principles developed during the review,” stated ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardic.
“As a sport, inclusivity is very important to us, but player safety and the integrity of the international women’s game came first,” he continued.
In September 2023, Canadian cricketer Danielle McGahey made history by being the first transgender player to play in a formal international match.
McGahey participated in six T20 internationals in a Los Angeles-hosted ICC T20 World Cup qualification event, scoring an average of 19.66 runs over six innings. Against Brazil, she scored her highest ever 48 off 45 balls.
She expressed her dissatisfaction with the ruling on November 14th after learning of her ban from an ICC attorney.
“I have now read the new policy, but I was informed by the ICC last week, and they let me know what was about to occur,” McGahey stated in an interview. I have therefore always been informed.
