Being shunned by society and sport for being transgender is painful and unfair enough. But, having to hear your father tell you to give up the sport you love due to the same is a sensation that many could never relate to. Unfortunately, this was the case for Anaya Bangar, who opened up about her struggle to find her place in cricket as a transwoman. Anaya (formerly Aryan), the daughter of former Indian cricketer and batting coach Sanjay Bangar, has been placed in the spotlight currently, after she opened up about her journey with transitioning and the struggles that have come with the decision in her life afterwards. Just like Bangar, Anaya is also a cricketer who has represented Islam Gymkhana in local club cricket. Apart from this, the left-handed batter has also played for the Hinckley Cricket Club in Leicestershire. Anaya also stated that she was initially rising through the ranks of domestic cricket, having played for the Mumbai U-16 and Pondicherry U-19 teams. But, post-transition, due to the skewed regulations that exist regarding trans-cricketers, Anaya had to temporarily quit the game, with her father himself having to remind her that ‘there’s no place in cricket’ for her. “My father was just stating the fact that there’s no place for me in cricket. So, I knew I had to take a stand for myself,” Anaya stated somberly in her interview with Lallantop. She then also expounded on how the unfair treatment that was meted out towards her made her feel defeated, leading to Anaya struggling with thoughts of self-harm. “I dealt with suicidal thoughts as a result, because I felt that the entire world was against me,” Anaya stated. “It’s horrible that the decision I took (hormone therapy to transition), for my well-being and identity, has left me with no space in this system. Even basic opportunities and rights are denied.” She clarified that it wasn’t her family, who accepted her, that made her feel so, but the systems in place in cricket and society that drove her into a dark place. “I still had space for myself from the family point of view. But it wasn’t there in society, cricket or the exterior world.” But, the unfortunate reality for Anaya and many other transgender women who yearn to build a professional career is that the ICC and ECB have both deemed it unfair to allow them to partake in women’s cricket. The ICC, in November 2023, announced that any player who has transitioned from male to female and has been through any form of male puberty will not be allowed to participate in women’s international cricket, regardless of any surgery or gender reassignment treatment they may have undertaken. And even more recently, the ECB followed suit, banning transgender women from playing at the elite level of women’s domestic cricket from 2025.