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Anaya Bangar, daughter of former Indian cricketer and coach Sanjay Bangar, has drawn significant attention online after publicly sharing her journey of gender transition and the personal sacrifices that came with it. From undergoing hormone replacement therapy to receiving gender-affirming surgery, Anaya took bold steps to live authentically—but those choices also forced her to leave behind a sport she deeply loved: cricket.
In a recent interview with Lallantop, Anaya opened up about the emotional and professional fallout of her transition. She revealed that her father had told her there was “no space for [her] in cricket anymore.” When asked directly about this during the interview, Anaya initially declined to comment, saying, “I don’t want to talk about my father in this interview.” However, acknowledging that the matter had already been discussed publicly, she added, “Yes, I’m aware of that. He was just stating a fact—that there’s no place for me in cricket. I had to take a stand for myself. I did get suicidal thoughts because it felt like the entire world was against me, and the decision I took (hormone therapy to become a woman) now left me with no space in this system. Even basic opportunities and rights are no longer there for me.”
She went on to say that while she still had emotional support from her family, acceptance from the outside world—including the cricketing community—was nearly nonexistent. “I still had space for myself from the family point of view. But it wasn’t there in society, cricket, or the exterior world.”
Anaya also shared deeply troubling experiences of harassment within the cricket circuit. After her transition, some individuals from the cricket world began sending her explicit and unsolicited messages. “I have played with well-known cricketers like Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz Khan, and Yashasvi Jaiswal. I had to maintain secrecy about myself because my dad is a well-known figure. The cricket world is filled with insecurity and toxic masculinity,” she said.
She explained that some individuals who were openly abusive toward her later behaved inappropriately in private. “There has been support, yes, but also harassment. Some cricketers sent me nude pictures without consent. One person would abuse me publicly, then privately sit next to me and ask for my photos.”
In another instance, she shared how a veteran cricketer responded to her vulnerability with predatory behavior. “I told a senior player about my situation, and he said, ‘Let’s go in the car, I want to sleep with you.’”
Anaya’s story is one of courage, conflict, and the high cost of authenticity in a society that often resists change. Her experiences highlight the urgent need for greater inclusivity and respect for gender-diverse individuals—especially in environments like sports, where talent should matter more than identity.
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