Former India all-rounder Sanjay Bangar was known for his dogged spirit on and off the field. The Railways all-rounder and former batting coach of Team India never took a backward step, no matter what the odds.
The spirit seems to have rubbed off on his child as well as his son – Aryan Bangar – took a bold step to undergo a sex change operation to turn into Anaya Bangar. Anaya is one of the rare transwomen who wants to play cricket.
Aryan, or Anaya, now shared a video on the struggles of the 10-month hormonal transformation procedure on her Instagram handle on Sunday night. In the Instagram video, Anaya shares the effects of HRT (Hormone Replacement Therapy) over the last 11 months.
About 11 months after the surgery, the cricketer identifies herself as Anaya. Like father, like son or daughter now, Anaya is a left-handed batter and used to play for Islam Gymkhana in local club cricket. She also represented Hinckley Cricket Club in Leicestershire and scored tons of runs.
While she might have given up on cricket, Anaya is happy to find her true self. “From a young age, cricket has always been a part of my life. Growing up, I watched my dad with awe as he represented and coached the country, and it wasn’t long before I started dreaming about following in his footsteps. The passion, the discipline, and the dedication he showed to the sport were deeply inspiring to me. Cricket became my love, my ambition, and my future. I’ve spent my entire life honing my skills, hoping that one day, I would get the chance to represent my country, just like him.
“I never though I’d have to consider giving up the sport that has been my passion, my love, and my escape. But here I am, facing a painful reality. As a trans woman on hormone replacement therapy (HRT), my body has changed drastically. I’ve been losing the muscle mass, strength, muscle memory, and athletic abilities I once relied on. The game I’ve loved for so long is slipping away from me,” Anaya shared about walking away from cricket due to HRT and it’s afteraffects.
“What hurts more is that there is no proper regulations for trans women in cricket. It feels like the system is forcing me out, not because I lack the drive or talent, but because the rules haven’t caught up with the reality of who I am. My testosterone level are down to 0.5 nmol, the lowest it can be for an average cisgender woman. Despite this, I still don’t have a place to represent my country or play at a professional level as my authentic self,” Anaya rued.
Currently, Anaya lives in Manchester and is playing for one of the county clubs there. Although it is yet to be known for which club she plays for, but a clip in her Instagram reel showed she did score 145 in one of the matches.
The England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) have taken the decision to ban transgender women from playing at the elite level of women’s domestic cricket from 2025. Any player who has gone through male puberty will not be eligible to feature in the top two tiers of the women’s game.
The new regulations will also apply to The Hundred’s women’s competition, but transgender women will be eligible to play in tier three of the domestic structure, which comprises traditionally lower-level counties, and in recreational cricket. It follows the decision from the International Cricket Council (ICC) in November 2023 to ban transgender women who have gone through male puberty from playing international women’s matches.
Sanjay Bangar served as batting coach of Team India from 2014 to the 2018 season, starting with Anil Kumble first as head coach followed by Ravi Shastri. He turned out in 12 Tests and 15 ODIs for Team India.
Bangar served as head coach of Royal Challengers Bangalore (RCB) in IPL 2022 season, followed and worked as Head of Cricket Development with Punjab Kings for IPL 2023 season.
