Jemimah to miss remaining WBBL season, to support Mandhana

India’s Women’s World Cup-winning hero Jemimah Rodrigues will miss the remaining WBBL season in Australia after she decided to stay back in India to support her national team-mate Smriti Mandhana whose wedding got postponed.

Jemimah had returned a few days back to attend Mandhana’s wedding and was scheduled to fly back to complete her Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) assignment for Brisbane Heat.

But Mandhana’s father took ill on the eve of the wedding and the ceremony got postponed. Jemimah then decided to be by Mandhana’s side to support her.

“The Brisbane Heat have agreed to a request to release Jemimah Rodrigues from the remainder of the Women’s Big Bash League,” said Brisbane Heat in a statement.

“Rodrigues returned home to India after the Heat’s match against the Hobart Hurricanes 10 days ago as part of a pre-arranged commitment where she was to be involved in Indian teammate Smriti Mandhana’s wedding last weekend.”

“However, the celebrations were subsequently postponed due to a health issue with Mandhana’s father,” the statement added.

The club said they had agreed to Jemimah’s request for release.

“Rodrigues will stay in India to support her teammate, and the Heat has agreed to her not returning for the final four games of the WBBL season.”

Jemimah played a pivotal role in India lifting their maiden Women’s World Cup, smashing an unbeaten century in the semifinal against seven-time champions Australia as the hosts overhauled a steep 300-plus total.

Brisbane Heat CEO Terry Svenson said it was a “challenging” time for Jemimah and the club agreed to her request.

“It has obviously been a challenging time for Jemi, so while it is unfortunate that she will take no further part in the WBBL, we were more than willing to agree to her request to remain in India,” he said.

“The Heat club obviously wish her and Smriti Mandhana’s family all the best for the future. Jemi told us she was disappointed not to be coming back and has passed on her appreciation to the club and the Heat fans for being so understanding of the circumstances,” Svenson added.

Jemimah was the Heat’s No.1 pick at the ‘International Player’ draft earlier this year.