Daughter of former cricketer Sanjay Bangar, Anaya shares her story of gender transition, toxic locker room culture, and calls for inclusive policies for trans athletes
New Delhi, April 18:
Anaya Bangar, daughter of former Indian cricketer and coach Sanjay Bangar, has publicly shared her deeply personal journey of gender transition and the accompanying struggles she faced within the cricketing ecosystem. Formerly known as Aryan, Anaya has played age-group cricket in India and club cricket in the UK, and now identifies as a trans woman after undergoing hormone replacement therapy and gender-affirming surgery.
In a candid conversation with Lallantop, Anaya recounted her early realization of gender identity, saying,
“I was around eight or nine when I would try on my mom’s clothes and look into the mirror, telling myself, ‘I am a girl. I want to be a girl.’”
While her personal journey was one of courage and self-discovery, Anaya revealed the darker underbelly of the cricketing world — one marked by toxic masculinity, insecurity, and instances of sexual harassment.
“I’ve played with some prominent names like Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. But I had to hide my truth because of my father’s identity and the conservative cricketing ecosystem,” she said.
Anaya alleged that post-transition, some male cricketers she had played with sent her unsolicited nude photos after learning about her identity. She also shared a disturbing encounter with a veteran cricketer who propositioned her sexually under the pretext of discussing her situation.
“He told me to come to his car. He said, ‘I want to sleep with you.’ Another used to abuse me in public but later ask me for personal photos,” Anaya recounted.
Despite the trauma, she also acknowledged receiving support from parts of the community, but called out the systemic failure to protect and include trans athletes.
Anaya, who has played for Islam Gymkhana in India and Hinckley Cricket Club in Leicestershire, UK, currently resides in Manchester. She has been an outspoken critic of the ICC’s recent policy that bans transgender women from participating in women’s cricket — a decision she called “deeply disappointing.”
“There are no proper regulations for trans women in cricket. The system failed me. We need policies that don’t make athletes choose between their passion and their identity,” she emphasized.
Anaya’s powerful testimony adds to the growing global conversation around inclusivity in sports and raises urgent questions for cricketing authorities to address.