'Transgender women' barred from playing international women's cricket

The International Cricket Council (ICC) declared on Tuesday that transgender women who have gone through male puberty are no longer eligible to play international women's cricket according to new rules.

Danielle McGahey of Canada made history in September when she participated in her first official international cricket match as a transgender player.

The ICC said that these new regulations, which go into effect immediately, and it will be reviewed in two years. The governing board emphasised that the "integrity of the women's game, safety, fairness, and inclusion" are the top priorities of this policy, which was created after nine months of deliberation.

"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," Geoff Allardice, ICC chief executive, said.

He stated: "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."

Each board in domestic cricket will manage gender eligibility on their own.

Trans women now have to obtain formal permission in order to participate in elite female-only contests, as per the England and Wales Cricket Board's guidelines. Then, each case is investigated using their evidence.

Notable decisions have been made in other sports. Fina, the swimming world's governing organisation, decided in June 2022 not to permit transgender athletes who went through any stage of male puberty to participate in top women's events.