Women’s T20 World Cup: Jemimah Rodrigues hits hard times out of park

Cape Town, February 13

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From hitting rock bottom after the ODI World Cup snub in New Zealand last year to slamming the winning runs in the victory over arch-rivals Pakistan in the Women’s T20 World Cup, Jemimah Rodrigues has brilliantly turned the corner in less than 12 months.

Rodrigues, who hit a 38-ball unbeaten 53 in the seven-wicket win in India’s opener on Sunday, said at one point of time she even contemplated quitting the game.

“I think this time last year when I was at home and I was not in a good headspace because I was dropped from (India’s) 50-over World Cup squad. That was the toughest time for me, but there were so many people who helped me throughout this time,” Rodrigues said.

“Honestly, many a time I had nothing to tell myself. There were so many times I had given up, you know I didn’t have the strength to carry (on) and I know a lot of people say ‘you need to back yourself, you need to motivate yourself’ but the person who is going through it, only they know what they’re going through,” she added.

At such critical times, the support system is very important. Rodrigues was grateful to her personal coach Prashant Shetty and her father for helping her get through that difficult phase.

“I was blessed that I had people who believed in me and helped me push through that time so I am just grateful to them. It felt like that was one of the lowest phases of my life but it turned out to be the reason why I could come here today,” she added.