The International Cricket Council's (ICC) decision to give a ruling against the eligibility of transgender women players to participate has come as a body blow to the only transgender player in the world, Danielle McGahey of Canada. McGahey, who became the first transgender player to feature in women's cricket during America's T20 qualifiers for the next year's T20 World Cup, announced her retirement from cricket a day after ICC announced its decision according to the new gender eligibility regulation.
McGahey in a heartbreaking post said that her international career has ended quickly after it started while saying that ICC's decision gave out a wrong message that people like her/them don't belong in the sport. However, she wasn't going to back down and will keep fighting.
"Following the ICC’s decision this morning, it is with a very heavy heart that I must say that my international cricketing career is over. As quickly as it begun, it must now end. Thank you so much to everybody who has supported me in my journey, from my all of my teammates, all of the opposition, the cricketing community, and my sponsor.
"While I hold my opinions on the ICC’s decision, they are irrelevant. What matters is the message being sent to millions of trans women today, a messaging say that we don’t belong. I promise I will not stop fighting for equality for us in our sport, we deserve the right to play cricket at the highest level, we are not a threat to the integrity or safety of the sport.
"Never stop fighting!!," McGahey added.
"Inclusivity is incredibly important to us as a sport, but our priority was to protect the integrity of the international women’s game and the safety of players," ICC CEO Geoff Allardice said in a statement as reasoning for their decision.
McGahey played six T20Is for Canada and scored 118 runs with a highest of 48.
