Transgender women will no longer be allowed to participate in international women’s cricket, as announced by the International Cricket Council.
The council emphasized that safeguarding the integrity of the international women’s game and ensuring the safety of the players is their utmost priority.
The amended policy is based on principles of fairness and inclusivity. It dictates that individuals who have undergone male puberty, irrespective of any surgeries or gender reassignment treatments, will not qualify to compete in international women’s cricket.
The decision to implement new gender eligibility regulations followed a comprehensive nine-month consultation, culminating in the final approval by the ICC board, chaired by Richard Thompson of the England and Wales Cricket Board.
These regulations will undergo a review within a two-year timeframe.
ICC chief executive Geoff Allardice stated, “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,” he added.
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It is essential to note that these rules exclusively apply to international women’s cricket, while domestic gender eligibility policies are left for each national cricket governing body to determine.
The current stance of the England and Wales Cricket Board holds that transgender women should be embraced in the gender with which they identify.
However, they have a “disparity policy” that can be invoked when concerns regarding variances in speed, strength, or skill among players surface.
This new policy in international cricket echoes World Athletics’ ruling in March, which prohibits individuals who have undergone male puberty from participating in female world ranking events.