Transgender athletes banned from international women’s cricket to ‘protect integrity and safety’ of players

Transgender women have been banned from participating in international women’s cricket, International Cricket Council (ICC) said. The ICC said its priority “was to protect the integrity of the international women's game and the safety of players".

The newly implemented policy, based on principles of fairness and inclusion, states that individuals assigned male at birth, who have undergone male puberty, are ineligible for international women's cricket, irrespective of any gender reassignment treatments or surgeries they may have undergone.

These gender eligibility regulations were developed after a nine-month consultation, and the ICC board, including England and Wales Cricket Board chairman Richard Thompson, made the final decision. The regulations will undergo a review within two years, Sky News reported. 

Geoff Allardice, ICC chief executive, said: "The changes to the gender eligibility regulations resulted from an extensive consultation process and is 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."

The regulations exclusively apply to international women's cricket, leaving gender eligibility for domestic competitions to be determined by each national cricket governing body. The England and Wales Cricket Board's current stance is that transgender women "should be accepted in the gender with which they identify." However, a "disparity policy" allows intervention when safety concerns arise regarding differences in speed, strength, or skill among players.

Its review on transgender policy will consider the new international ban on transgender women from women's competitions. An ECB spokesperson told Sky News: "We continue to review our transgender policy, considering inclusivity, safety and fairness, and will consider these new ICC regulations as part of this work."

The new international cricket policy reflects World Athletics' decision in March to bar competitors who have gone through male puberty from female world ranking events.