Danielle McGahey, a Canadian transgender cricket player, was born in Australia and will play for Canada in a women’s T20I, making history. Notably, Danielle McGahey has been selected for Canada’s team in a qualification match for the Women’s T20 World Cup in Bangladesh in 2024.
The cricket player met all of the International Cricket Council’s (ICC) eligibility requirements. In 2020, Danielle moved to Canada from Australia and later underwent a gender transformation. Danielle recounted the procedures she went through to become selected for the setup, delighted to be the first transgender person to represent the town.
“I feel incredibly honored. I never thought I would be able to represent my community, but here I am. A lot of work was put into getting my doctor to transmit my medical information to the ICC; they have a dedicated medical officer who reviews everything and decides whether or not I’ve provided enough material for an expert panel to decide,” she told BBC Sport.
“The hardest problem is definitely having to have blood tests every month because playing cricket requires a lot of travel. Your disclosure of all your medical data, your history of puberty, and any operations is extremely personal. There is plenty to it. But the procedures are in place, and they have been followed as planned, she continued.
According to the ICC’s eligibility rules, “a trans woman who wishes to participate in women’s international cricket must demonstrate that the level of testosterone in her serum has consistently been less than 5 nmol/L1 for a period of at least 12 months and that she is ready, willing, and able to continue to keep it below that level for as long as she continues to compete.”
A male-to-female trans athlete must, according to the ICC, “provide a written and signed declaration, in a form satisfactory to the designated medical officer, that her gender identity is female.”
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