Who is Anaya Bangar? Trans cricketer exposing other players

The cricket pitch may be green, but the underbelly of the sport is not as clean-cut—at least, not according to Anaya Bangar. The 23-year-old cricketer and social media influencer—who was earlier known as Aryan Bangar, son of former Team India player Sanjay Bangar—has come out not just with her truth, but with some jaw-dropping receipts about the cricketing ecosystem.

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Who is Anaya Bangar?

After undergoing hormonal replacement therapy and gender-affirming surgery, Anaya now proudly identifies as a transwoman—and she is not letting society shove her story under the rug. In a recent interview with Lallantop, Anaya dropped truth bombs that had cricket Twitter scrambling.

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Ananya Bangar calls out Sarfaraz Khan, Yashasvi Jaiswal, and others

From playing with names like Musheer Khan, Sarfaraz Khan and Yashasvi Jaiswal, to being forced into secrecy because of her father's reputation, she revealed, “Cricket is drowning in toxic masculinity and insecurity.” Anaya pointed out how the pressure to stay silent was suffocating, especially when her own teammates became perpetrators of harassment.

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According to her, some cricketers went as far as sending her unsolicited nudes, while one individual publicly bullied her—only to slide up to her later, asking for selfies and photos. Whew, talk about hypocrisy at its peak.

Anaya Bangar slammed ICC for banning transgender athletes 

And if that was not enough to shake things up, Anaya has now turned her attention to the International Cricket Council (ICC). In a recent Instagram post, she called out the new regulation banning transgender athletes from competing in international women’s cricket. For Anaya, who has bled on that pitch and batted through storms—this was nothing short of a slap in the face.

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Currently living in Manchester, Anaya is not just a powerful voice in cricket but also a fierce force on Instagram. From playing at Islam Gymkhana and Hinckley Cricket Club in Leicestershire, to calling out the dark corners of the sport—Anaya is showing that the new face of cricket is inclusive, outspoken and done being silent.

One thing is for sure—cricket will never be the same again, and Anaya Bangar has everything to do with it.