ICC: Transpersons barred from participating in international women’s cricket

The decision, ICC states, relates solely to gender eligibility for international women’s cricket, whilst gender eligibility at domestic level will be a matter for each individual Member Board as per local legislation.

Representative Image: The decision, ICC states, relates solely to gender eligibility for international women’s cricket, whilst gender eligibility at domestic level will be a matter for each individual Member Board as per local legislation.  | Photo Credit: GETTY IMAGES

Transpersons won’t be eligible to participate in international women’s games regardless of any surgery or gender reassignment treatment they may have undertaken, the International Cricket Council (ICC) said on Tuesday.

The decision, ICC states, relates solely to gender eligibility for international women’s cricket, whilst gender eligibility at domestic level will be a matter for each individual Member Board as per local legislation.

According to ICC, the policy is based on protection of the integrity of women’s game, safety, awareness, and inclusion - in that order of priority.

“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 release stated.

The board approved new gender eligibility regulations, which will be reviewed within two years, following a 9-month consultation process with the sport’s stakeholders.

“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,” ICC Chief Executive Geoff Allardice said.