In March, Anaya Bangar, underwent gender affirming surgery. The former Mumbai Under-19 cricketer, who played with the likes of Sarfaraz Khan, will now head to Australia to play Community Cricket. (Credit: Ananya Bangar/Instagram)Veteran South African all-rounder Marizanne Kapp has criticised Cricket Australia’s (CA) decision to allow Indian trans athlete Anaya Bangar a pathway back through women’s cricket.Anaya, whose father, Sanjay Bangar, is a former India all-rounder and was also the batting coach of the men’s team, earlier played age-group cricket for Mumbai alongside Test-capped Sarfaraz Khan and his brother Musheer Khan. She underwent gender-affirming surgery in March this year.Earlier this week, she received clearance to play women’s community cricket in Australia. In June this year, she reached out to Cricket Australia. In its reply sent on July 20, Cricket Australia told Anaya that while she could start playing community cricket immediately, she would have to fulfil testosterone-related eligibility criteria to qualify for ‘Elite Cricket’ like the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL).ALSO READ | ‘Great day’ says trans athlete Anaya Bangar after Cricket Australia okays participationReacting to the news on social media, Kapp slammed the decision allowing trans athletes in women’s cricket.“Absolutely ridiculous, this should not be allowed,” Kapp, who has featured in over 280 international matches across formats, wrote on her Instagram.Cricket Australia’s ‘Transgender and Gender Diverse Players in Elite Cricket Policy’ requires a player’s serum testosterone to be below 10 nmol/L (nanomoles per litre) for at least 12 months to be eligible to play.Story continues below this adCA also stated that Anaya will be eligible to play elite cricket should she fulfill the criteria post March 2027.“I genuinely couldn’t believe that I’ll be able to play again. Because of Cricket Australia and its progressive and inclusive policies, which focus on fairness and inclusion in women’s sport for trans women, this is a huge milestone, not just for me, but for other athletes like me who want to try but aren’t doing so because they have to either choose the sport or choose transition,” Anaya recently told The Indian Express.While she is still recovering from the gender affirming surgery, Anaya said she was in the process of finding a club in Australia to play for.According to Anaya, after years of confusion about her identity, she began the process of transitioning from a man to a woman in 2022. She spoke to counselors who guided her, and then moved to the United Kingdom where she played club cricket and explored hormone replacement therapy.Stay updated with the latest sports news across Cricket, Football, Chess, and more. Catch all the action with real-time live cricket score updates and in-depth coverage of ongoing matches.Tags:Sanjay Bangar