Transgender people will be barred from competing in international women’s cricket, according to the sport’s governing body on Tuesday.
According to the International Cricket Council, the “new gender eligibility regulation,” which was agreed by board members, was established to defend the integrity of women’s cricket and for safety reasons.
“Male-to-female participants who have undergone male puberty will not be eligible to compete in the international women’s game,” the International Cricket Council (ICC) declared.
It went on to say that the rules would apply “regardless of any surgical or gender reassignment treatment” that athletes have undergone.
“The changes to the gender eligibility regulations resulted from an extensive consultation process and are founded in science, aligning with the core principles developed during the review,” said Geoff Allardice, chief executive of the International Cricket Council. “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 ICC stated that the rules would be reviewed in two years in order to “align with the sport’s evolving landscape.”
Individual member boards will make decisions on whether to allow transgender women to play at the domestic level, according to the organisation.
The ICC also declared that female match officials will be paid equally whether they officiated men’s or women’s games.
