On Tuesday, the International Cricket Council decided that transgender players and those who have undergone gender reassignment treatment from male to female will not be permitted to play in international women's cricket.
Following the ICC Board's approval of the new gender eligibility rules for the international game, it was decided to bar anyone who has reached any stage of male puberty from participating.
The new policy, which was decided upon following a nine-month process of consultation with the stakeholders in the sport, is predicated on the following principles, which are listed in priority order: safety, fairness, inclusion, and preservation of the integrity of the women's game.
Official Statement
"The new policy is based on the following principles (in order of priority), protection of the integrity of the women’s game, safety, fairness and inclusion," the ICC said in a release on Tuesday.
"This means any Male to Female participants who have been through any form of male puberty will not be eligible to participate in the international women’s game regardless of any surgery or gender reassignment treatment they may have undertaken," the board added.
The regulations will be reviewed within two years, the ICC release said on Tuesday.
"The gender eligibility at domestic level is a matter for each individual Member board, which may be impacted by local legislation. The regulations will be reviewed within two years."
While gender eligibility at the domestic level is a matter for each individual Member Board and may be impacted by local legislation, the review, which was led by the ICC Medical Advisory Committee chaired by Dr. Peter Harcourt, relates exclusively to gender eligibility for international women's cricket.
“The changes to the gender eligibility regulations resulted from an extensive consultation process and are 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,” ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said.
Danielle McGahey - First Transgender Player to Appear in International Cricket
After a significant modification to the ICC's gender eligibility rules, Danielle McGahey—who made history earlier this year as the first transgender player to appear in an international cricket match—will no longer be permitted to play in women's international matches.
The 29-year-old batter, McGahey, is originally from Australia. However, in 2020, he relocated to Canada, and in 2021, he underwent a medical transition from male to female. She participated for Canada in the Women's T20 Americas Qualifier in September 2023, which served as a qualifying event for the 2024 T20 World Cup.
McGahey met the requirements set forth at the time for gender eligibility in order to play international cricket as a male who transitioned to female. During her six T20I matches, she has amassed 118 runs at a 19.66 average and a 95.93 strike rate.
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