Sanjay Bangar's child Anaya Bangar announces break from career due to gender-affirming surgery: "Recovery can take from six months to a year to fully settle and heal"

Sanjay Bangar's child Anaya Bangar announces break from career due to gender-affirming surgery: "Recovery can take from six months to a year to fully settle and heal"

• Anaya Bangar to take a break from cricket for surgery in March
• She will undergo gender-affirming surgery in Thailand
• Her father Sanjay Bangar will pay for the entire procedure.

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Anaya Bangar has announced that she will be taking a break from cricket as she prepares to undergo gender-affirming surgery in March. The cricketer and trans-rights advocate shared the update with her followers in a deeply personal note, calling it a long-awaited step in her journey towards living fully and authentically. For Anaya, this moment represents not just a medical decision, but years of reflection, therapy and resilience.

“As my surgery is coming up, I’ll be taking a break from playing and training. I want to give myself the time and space to recover properly and focus on being fully comfortable in my body. Recovery can take anywhere from six months to a year for the body to fully settle and heal, so I’m choosing to do this the right way, patiently and intentionally. I’m truly grateful for all the love and support you’ll have shown me through every phase of this journey. It means more than you know. Love, Anaya.”

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Through her message, Anaya made it clear that the break from cricket is necessary to ensure a proper recovery. She acknowledged that returning to professional sport will take time and patience, adding that she may be away from the field for at least six months as her body heals.

In a recent interview, she confirmed that she will be travelling to Thailand for the procedure and will stay there for at least a month as part of the immediate recovery phase. She also revealed that her father, former Indian cricketer and national team coach Sanjay Bangar, will be bearing the full cost of the surgery — a gesture she described as deeply meaningful after years of emotional complexity within the family.

“I will be undergoing gender-affirming surgery (vaginoplasty) in March. Fashion designer Saisha Shinde and actress Trinetra Haldar Gummaraju, who have also undergone the procedure, guided me. I’ll be having the surgery at the same clinic in Thailand, where I’ll need to stay for at least a month. After that, I’ll have to rest for a while. I won’t be able to play cricket for at least six months, but I’m glad this is finally happening,” Anaya said.

Opening up about how long she had waited for this moment, she added, “I’ve waited for this moment for five years. This is who I am. I never felt aligned with the gender I was born with. The decision to undergo the gender-affirming surgery came after years of therapy, medical evaluations and deep self-reflection. I went through extensive psychological and medical assessments to ensure I’m ready.”

Anaya’s journey has not been without challenges. She had previously spoken about being told that she no longer had a future in cricket, a statement that deeply affected her at the time. Yet she continued to speak openly about identity and inclusion in sport, advocating for transgender athletes and pushing for greater understanding within the cricketing community.

Reflecting on how her family’s support evolved over time, Anaya shared, “I received immense support from people and was in a better place financially, too. My father saw people taking pictures with me, standing by me and respecting me. Both my parents realised this wasn’t a phase. They saw that I was serious about my life and my choices.”

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She continued, “I believe that’s what led them to come around and offer me full support. My father is bearing the complete expenses of my surgery. At one point, I was completely on my own in the UK, and there is still a lot of stigma around LGBTQ+ people within families. I hope that by speaking out and by my family supporting me, it will help other trans women. It could make these conversations easier in someone else’s home. In a country where conversations around gender identity are still difficult within families, my parents’ support means everything.”

For Anaya, this break marks not an end, but a pause — one that allows her to return stronger, more aligned and fully herself.