NEW DELHI: For Anaya Bangar, the prospect of returning to competitive cricket is about much more than stepping back onto a field. It represents the culmination of a lonely and emotionally difficult journey that began when she started her transition in 2022.Now on the cusp of reclaiming her cricketing life, the 25-year-old trans athlete says Cricket Australia’s decision to provide her a pathway into women’s cricket is a moment she once thought might never arrive.“It’s been lonely, it’s been brutal, but it’s also been worth it,” Anaya told PTI.Her journey eventually culminated in gender-affirming surgery in March this year. In June, she approached Cricket Australia’s Head of Integrity Jacqui Partridge after learning about the governing body’s policy for transgender and gender-diverse players. The process eventually resulted in CA clearing Anaya for a pathway towards competitive women’s cricket, subject to the policy’s eligibility requirements.“Right now, just hearing the news about Cricket Australia clearing me, and basically providing me a path to play women’s cricket, to play cricket as who I am is huge for me,” she said.

‘It can get very isolating’

Anaya admitted that the transition was an extremely difficult period, particularly while navigating the challenges of being a trans athlete in the current political climate.“…when you’re transitioning, and when you’re a trans-athlete, during this political climate in this world, it can get very isolating. You feel very lonely, you feel like there’s no one who really understands out there,” she said.She found that solitude helped her deal with a situation in which she often felt others were trying to tell her what was best for her.“Everyone out there is trying to give you solutions, when you know that your own case is the right one. You know what is happening with you is injustice. So, during all of this, just the fact of being with myself, solitude has helped me a lot throughout all this,” she added.Anaya, whose father is former India player and decorated coach Sanjay Bangar, said she had eventually given up hope of playing cricket again after beginning her transition.“To be honest, emotionally, it’s just been all by myself, but I’m grateful for the support for the necessities that I had from my family,” she said.“I never thought that I’ll be able to get (to) play cricket ever since the day I started transitioning. I just tried to put myself out there and see what happens, and whatever works, works. And throughout all this, I think the universe has backed me a lot, and here we are,” she added.

‘The experience made me stronger and wiser’

Anaya said the experience of stepping away from the sport she loved, undergoing major personal changes and dealing with changing family dynamics ultimately made her stronger.“To be honest, transitioning was always about being happy and comfortable in my own skin. And I had to take the necessary steps during that time in my life to basically give up the sport that I loved. Go through major changes, go through major family dynamic changes and everything,” she said.“…And I couldn’t be more grateful for this journey. It’s been a rollercoaster, it’s been brutal, it’s been filled with emotions, but I’m glad I’m on the stepping stone now.”