Reports | Cricket Australia unveils new guidelines to include transgender players at highest level

The last few years have seen major sports make amendments to their policies to include people belonging to the transgender community. Cricket Australia chief executive Kevin Roberts believes that it is time cricket also embraced the same.

“It doesn’t make any sense that today, people are discriminated against, harassed or excluded because of who they are,” Roberts said in a statement, reported Hindustan Times.

As per the new guidelines set out by the board, the players must show a testosterone concentration of less than 10 nanomoles per litre over at least 12 months to be eligible for elite women’s teams. In addition, they are to sustain a lifestyle in accordance with their selected gender. 

The move means the Australian board now aligns more closely to the ICC’s gender diversity guidelines. The policy also provides guidance to community clubs on supporting grassroot-level players to compete as the gender with which they identify. 

Although in recent years, the transgender participation in sport has seen a steady increase, it has come at the displeasure of some prominent stars, including tennis great Martina Navratilova. Several reports showing overwhelming mismatches in terms of physicality between opponents have also raised eyebrows.