Daily Times

LONDON: Danielle McGahey is set to become the first transgender player to feature in international cricket after being named in Canada’s squad for the Women’s T20 Americas Qualifier, the pathway tournament to the 2024 T20 World Cup. McGahey, a 29-year-old batter, is originally from Australia but moved to Canada in 2020. According to BBC Sport, which reported the story first, McGahey socially transitioned from male to female in 2020, before undergoing a medical transition a few months later in 2021. On Thursday, the ICC confirmed that McGahey had fulfilled the eligibility criteria for male-to-female (MTF) transition to play international cricket. “We can confirm that Danielle went through the process as required under the ICC’s Player Eligibility Regulations,” an ICC spokesperson told ESPNcricinfo, “and as a result has been deemed eligible to participate in international women’s cricket on the basis that she satisfies the MTF transgender eligibility criteria.”

McGahey told BBC Sport that she was “absolutely honoured” to play as a transgender athlete at international level. “To be able to represent my community is something I never dreamed I would be able to do.” McGahey played four matches for Canada at the South American Women’s Championship held last October in Brazil, which Canada won. That tournament did not have international status. The Americas Qualifier, which will be played in Los Angeles, USA from September 4 to 11, will feature Argentina, Brazil, Canada and hosts USA. The winner will progress to the global Qualifiers where teams from other regional Qualifiers will contest for spots in the next T20 World Cup, to be played in Bangladesh. The ICC amended the Player Eligibility regulations in 2021. The ICC’s existing regulations are based primarily on the International Olympic Committee’s (IOC) guidelines from November 2021, a 10-principle approach it offers as a framework to sporting bodies, in which it has attempted to balance inclusivity in participation with fairness of competition.