Apex Cricket Body bars transgender players from taking part in women’s cricket

The Apex Cricket Body was busy self on Tuesday as they brought in a few rule changes to International Cricket. One of the biggest rules was that there would be a stopwatch being introduced to have a look at the slow over-rate issues. Another rule change is that transgender players will no longer be allowed to play in the Women’s team.

The landmark decision was taken on Tuesday to make sure that any player who has gone through the gender change procedure cannot take part in the women’s team. This decision made by the Apex Cricket Body has yet to evoke responses from cricketers.

This move was necessary after Danielle Mcgahey an Australian became the first transgender player to make an international cricket debut. Danielle Mcgahey underwent a surgical procedure to play cricket for the Canadian Women’s team becoming the first transgender player to do so.

Apex Cricket Body has come up with a new directive –

After the entire Danielle Mcgahey saga Cricket’s Apex Body has decided to tighten its screw on transgender players. As per the new rules, it has been made clear that any person who is transitioning from man to woman will not be allowed to play Women’s Cricket. The rule also states that if a person has hit puberty a male will not be allowed to play cricket.

Geoff Allardyce who is the CEO of the Apex Cricket Body said “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”

In a release, the Apex Cricket Body stated “It is based on the following principles (in order of priority), protection of the integrity of the women’s game, safety, fairness and inclusion”. The new committee chaired by Dr. Peter Harcourt has made these new recommendations.

The statement concluded, “The gender eligibility at domestic level is a matter for each Member board, which may be impacted by local legislation, the regulations will be reviewed within two years.”

For the unversed Danielle Mcgahey is a 29-year-old Australian who has shifted to Canada. Danielle Mcgahey went through the procedure in 2021 and went through the gender eligibility tests before making her debut for Canada in the T20 format.