Danielle McGahey is set to become the first transgender player to feature in international cricket after the International Cricket Council allowed her to play Women’s T20 World Cup 2024 Qualifiers, ESPNcricinfo reported.
McGahey is part of Canada’s squad for the Women’s T20 Americas Qualifier for the T20 World Cup 2024.
Originally from Australia, the 29-year-old batter moved to Canada in 2020. McGahey socially transitioned from male to female in 2020, before undergoing a medical transition a few months later in 2021, BBC Sport reported.
On August 31, 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,” ESPNcricinfo quoted an ICC spokesperson as saying.
McGahey has played four matches for Canada at the South American Women’s Championship but the tournament did not have international status.
The US will compete in the Americas Qualifier as a host while Argentina, Brazil and Canada will also feature in the qualifier. It will be played in Los Angeles from September 4 to September 11.
The winner of the qualifier will then compete in the global Qualifiers where teams from other regional qualifiers will contest for spots in the next T20 World Cup.