ICC puts a ban on transgender players in women’s international cricket

Integrity as well as concerns of safety for the players were the primary reason behind ICC’s decision to ban transgender players.

The International Cricket Council (ICC) has made a major change to its gender eligibility regulations. Under the new rules, any player who has undergone the transition from male to female or has been through any form of male puberty, will not be allowed to take part in women’s international cricket regardless of any surgery or gender reassignment treatment that they may have gone through. This change was approved by the ICC board of directors on Tuesday.

It must be mentioned here that ICC’s decision is in alignment with similar rulings by the global governing bodies of the sports including swimming, rugby, cycling, as well as athletics.

The ICC said in a statement: "The changes to the gender eligibility regulations resulted from an extensive consultation process and is founded in science and aligned with the core principles developed during the review.

"Inclusivity is incredibly important to us as a sport, but our priority was to protect the integrity of the international women's game and the safety of players."

As a result, Canada’s Danielle McGahey, who became the first transgender player to feature in international cricket earlier this year, has decided to conclude her international career following the release of the ICC directive.

McGahey is a 29-year-old batter who moved from Australia to Canada in 2020. She then went through a male-to-female medical transition the following year and in September, 2023, she appeared for Canada in the Women's T20 Americas Qualifier, the pathway tournament to the 2024 T20 World Cup. In her international career so far, she has played six T20Is and has scored 118 runs at an average of 19.66 and has a strike rate of 95.93.

"Following the ICC's decision this morning, it is with a very heavy heart that I must say that my international cricketing career is over," the 29-year-old wrote in an Instagram post.
"I promise I will not stop fighting for equality for us in our sport, we deserve the right to play cricket at the highest level, we are not a threat to the integrity or safety of the sport. Never stop fighting!"

The ICC also mentioned that they reached the decision after a nine-month consultation process with the sport’s stakeholders. It is specifically applicable to international cricket but the ICC also mentioned that the decision will be reviewed in two years.

For now, the review, which was led by the ICC medical advisory committee chaired by Dr Peter Harcourt, relates to gender eligibility for international women's cricket only. "The gender eligibility at domestic level is a matter for each individual Member board, which may be impacted by local legislation," the ICC said.

Organisations that advocate the rights of transgender people argue that exclusion of trans athletes is a form of discrimination. Those critical of including transgender individuals in women's sports contend that undergoing male puberty provides athletes with a significant musculoskeletal advantage that transitioning does not fully address.

‍