Monday will mark a watershed sporting moment for Karnataka when a transmen team representing the State will participate in a national-level cricket tournament for the first time.
When the team of eleven led by captain Aadhityanath and vice-captain Bhuvan play their first match against the Maharashtra team on December 15, every run will be hard-earned, scored after a longer innings off the field.
All-transmen team
The Transgender Persons’ Cricket Tournament that will be held from December 15 to 20 in Punjab is being organised for the second time by the Transgender Athletes Foundation. In the first tournament that was held around a year ago, the Kerala team emerged as winner.
While teams can consist of transmen and transwomen, no cisgender individuals are allowed. All the eleven members of the Karnataka team are transmen.
“We couldn’t participate last time. Our team was formed only about a year ago,” said Aadhityanath. It was a friendly march held around a year ago in Bengaluru before the Pride March that led to the formation of the team. The team members participating in the tournament include Aadhityanath, Nathan, Bhuvan, Sanju, Dhruvanth, Ayush, Abhi, Sameem, B., Rahmathullah, and Aatiq.
Accessing spaces
According to the team, accessing grounds and nets to practise regularly has been a challenge.
“For this tournament in particular, we have been able to practise only once,” said Aadhityanath. A major hindrance has been high rents charged in the city.
“For nets, we have to cough up ₹10,000 to practise for a day. None of us have the means to bear such huge expenses, nor do we have any government support. Most of us draw monthly salaries that are equivalent to one day’s rent for the nets,” said Aadhityanath.
While there are many more who are interested in joining the team, financial issues pose a hindrance.
“Many don’t even know about the existence of such a team because we haven’t been able to participate in matches due to financial limitations,” he added.
A pillar of support has been Raahi, a Karnataka-based organisation that works on the rights of the LGBTQIA+ community. Initially, the organisation provided the team with jerseys and kitbags. With the help of Raahi, the team managed to access the grounds of RBANMS school in Bengaluru occasionally for practice.
In for a long innings
While Raahi helped to raise the funds for the travel to Punjab, the accommodation and food expenses during the tournament would be borne by the organisers, who have also provided the tournament jerseys. Other participating teams include Maharashtra, Kerala, Odisha, Haryana and Delhi.
“We aren’t really thinking about winning or losing this time. But we want to be more prepared for the next year,” said Aadhityanath. “The team is also finding the harsh winter a bit difficult. But within all the constraints we have been trying our best and we will give it our best,” he said.
Published – December 13, 2025 11:47 pm IST
