'We Held Bats Before We Held Phones': Anaya Bangar Spends Time With 'Best Friend' Sarfaraz Khan And His Family

'We Held Bats Before We Held Phones': Anaya Bangar Spends Time With 'Best Friend' Sarfaraz Khan And His Family

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Last Updated: April 22, 2025, 07:33 IST

Anaya Bangar, daughter of former India cricketer Sanjay Bangar, has shared pictures and clips of her meeting with old friend Sarfaraz Khan and his family.

Anaya Bangar shared a series of pictures and a clip of her meeting with Sarfaraz Khan. (Credit: IG/anayabangar)

Anaya Bangar, daughter of former India allrounder Sanjay Bangar, met her old friend Sarfaraz Khan with whom she grew up playing cricket. Anaya spent time with the family of Sarfaraz and shared a series of pictures and a cute video of the India Test cricketer’s young kid Romana Zahoor.

“We held bats before we held phones. Friends since the beginning," Anaya captioned the post and added, “Missed you @musheerkhan.97"

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View this post on Instagram A post shared by Anaya Bangar (@anayabangar)

Musheer, the younger brother of Sarfaraz, is currently with the Punjab Kings squad for the ongoing IPL 2025.

Anaya recently opened up on the challenges she faced after going through the transition that dented her hopes of playing cricket at a professional level.

“My father was just stating the fact that there’s no place for me in cricket. So, I knew I had to take a stand for myself," Anaya said in an interview with Lallantop.

Such was the state of her mind that Anaya even contemplated suicide given the attitude of the society. “I dealt with suicidal thoughts as a result, because I felt that the entire world was against me," she said.

While Anaya’s family stood behind her, the system failed her.

“It’s horrible that the decision I took (hormone therapy to transition), for my well-being and identity, has left me with no space in this system. Even basic opportunities and rights are denied. I still had space for myself from the family point of view. But it wasn’t there in society, cricket or the exterior world," she said.

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In a stunning claim, Anaya also claimed how she dealt with support and harassment from fellow cricketers. She was verbally abused, received nudes from a veteran cricketer and was propositioned by a former player.

“There have been a few cricketers who randomly sent me nude pictures of them. The person used to give gaalis in front of everybody. The same person then used to come and sit beside me and ask for my photos. There was another instance, when I was in India, I told a puraane (veteran) cricketer about my situation. He told me let’s go in the car, I want to sleep with you," she said.

First Published: April 22, 2025, 07:33 IST

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