ICC bans transgender players from women’s international cricket،
Danielle McGahey, who became the first transgender player to feature in international cricket earlier this year, will no longer be able to play in women’s international matches following a key change to the ICC’s gender eligibility rules.
Under the new rules, approved by the ICC board on Tuesday, any player who has transitioned from male to female and has gone through any form of male puberty will not be allowed to participate in women’s international cricket, regardless of any intervention surgical or sex reassignment treatment. they were able to undertake.
McGahey, a 29-year-old batter, is originally from Australia but moved to Canada in 2020 and underwent a medical transition from male to female in 2021. In September 2023, she represented Canada in the women’s T20 qualifying tournament of the Americas, the tournament route at the T20 World Cup 2024. So far, she has played six T20Is, scoring 118 runs at an average of 19.66 and a strike rate of 95.93.
Brazil women’s team captain Roberta Avery, against whom McGahey played two T20Is and recorded her best-of-48, agreed with the ICC’s decision but called its timing “unfortunate”.
“This is a decision that appears to have been taken by the ICC in good faith, with the benefit of the most recent scientific advice,” Avery told ESPNcricinfo. “That said, the timing of this decision is truly unfortunate.
“Danielle McGahey was allowed to compete in the recent World Cup qualifiers based on the rules in place at the time. As a result, she was subjected to a lot of abuse from people who never respected her. encountered and who do not understand the rules. the difficult journey she has experienced.
“She and her teammates also reasonably expected that she would be allowed to play in future matches. It is therefore unfortunate that this decision was made after the event, once Danielle’s hopes had been raised and after she had already been exposed to ” “
The ICC finalized the new policy after a nine-month consultation process with the sport’s stakeholders. “It is based on the following principles (in order of priority), protecting the integrity of women’s football, safety, fairness and inclusion,” the board said in a statement. “The regulations will be revised within two years.”
Geoff Allardice, CEO of ICC, added: “Inclusiveness is extremely important to us as a sport, but our priority was to protect the integrity of international women’s football and the safety of players.
For now, the review, conducted by the ICC Medical Advisory Committee chaired by Dr Peter Harcourt, focuses solely on gender eligibility in international women’s cricket. “Gender eligibility at the national level is the responsibility of each individual member board, which may be influenced by local legislation,” the ICC said.
