On Thursday evening, during the India vs Australia Women’s World Cup semi-final, Jemimah Rodrigues transcended the boundaries of the cricket field to embody something much bigger. The 25-year-old has long been primed for greatness, but somehow she seemed to falter. Four years into her international career, she was excluded from the 2022 World Cup campaign in New Zealand, and the feeling was no different when India, struggling to find the right playing combination, chose to overlook her against England in the ongoing tournament.
Jemimah, as on several occasions in the past – including the 2022 Commonwealth Games gold medal clash against Australia and the 2023 T20 World Cup semifinal against the same opponents – watched helplessly from the sidelines as India floundered in a chase they should have completed easily in Indore.
As an early exit loomed for the World Cup hosts, India turned back to the 25-year-old, who was determined to put everything behind her and get the team back on track.
The magnitude of her achievement at the DY Patil Stadium on the night of October 30 may take time to sink in. But there is little doubt that it was one of the finest knocks played by an Indian in World Cup knockout stages-across genders.
On the personal front, Jemimah faced challenges too. Last year, she saw her club, Khar Gymkhana, cancel her membership after complaints were filed against her father, Ivan Rodrigues, for allegedly using the club’s premises to host unauthorised religious gatherings.
According to Shiv Malhotra, a member of the managing committee of Khar Gymkhana, Ivan Rodrigues had been booking the Presidential Hall at concessional rates using Jemimah’s membership. These bookings were allegedly for organizing religious activities, which violated Article 4 of the Gymkhana’s by-laws.
Jemimah Rodrigues is a beautiful contradiction in which vulnerability mingles with resilience, and anxiety coexists with self-belief. So do grit and grace. Jemimah-the ever-cheerful, strong, and lively face of the Indian women’s cricket team-was crying daily through the ongoing World Cup, battling to stay afloat while seeking comfort from her mother over the phone, after being dropped from the side mid-tournament.
Teary-eyed, she opened up about her struggle with anxiety after playing one of the greatest knocks by an Indian cricketer in a World Cup, against mighty Australia in a semifinal.
Her stirring post-match interviews offered a real insight into the kind of person she truly is.
Everything she said, moments after her magnificent knock halted the Australian World Cup juggernaut on Thursday night, was a far cry from the clichés often thrown around these days.
“It’s okay to ask for help. I’ll be very vulnerable here because I know if someone is watching this, they might be going through the same thing.
“And that’s my whole purpose in saying it-because nobody likes to talk about their weakness,” she said, offering a glimpse into her inner world.
Moment of Truth
In hindsight, dropping her midway through the World Cup was one of the toughest decisions for the team. But for Rodrigues, it was a moment of truth in a career that has seen plenty of disappointment.
Jemimah’s unbeaten 127 against the rampaging Australians will now find its place in the annals of Indian cricket history-equivalent to that seminal moment when Harmanpreet Kaur struck 171 against the same opponent at a similar stage in the 2017 World Cup.
“She is a very flamboyant person, but she is also very emotional. She is passionate about playing-she wants to run, but more importantly, she wants to win for the team. This is always on her mind,” Jemimah’s childhood coach Prashant Shetty told PTI.
“So obviously, there was a little anxiety before coming here for her first World Cup at home.” Jemimah rose through the ranks in Mumbai to become one of India’s key batters, but the journey wasn’t easy. Being dropped from the 2022 World Cup campaign was her lowest point, but also a turning point-it “gave them clarity.”
“She has seen setbacks. But from our conversations, she knows we should focus on what is in our control-like preparing to the best of our ability. We should have a game plan,” Shetty said.
“When you have a small goal, you feel a little calm. But if you only think about the end result, or what would happen to me, or why did this happen to me, you don’t think about your response for a long time.”
Her battles with anxiety and the pressure of keeping her place in the team may have pushed Jemimah to the brink, but it was not something she wasn’t prepared for.
“It’s easy to seek sympathy. It’s easiest to give excuses. But defining your character is the most difficult,” Shetty said, reflecting on her early years.
“We (coaches in Mumbai) do the same in matches. When she was dropped, she used to play with under-19 and under-14 players. You have to make runs at the end of the day-be it on good pitches at MIG (Cricket Club) or Azad Maidan’s soft and turning wickets.”
“It cannot be taken as an excuse that these are boys or the pitch is not good. These are just excuses-and this is how you harden up as a cricketer,” he concluded.
With PTI inputs