Jemimah Rodriguez opens up on how she braved her demons to return to the Indian squad for the Women’s T20 World Cup

Jemimah Rodriguez has now become a household name in the context of Indian cricket but what it is now, is a much changed version of a story that for a while felt, would never take flight. 

Looking back at 2022, Jemimah was left behind for the last World Cup with India finishing in the fifth spot of the points table, hence failing to advance to the knockouts. 

Despite the snub, Jemimah Rodriguez was not willing to let her spirits be dampened. However, when the going gets tough, all of those hindrances in life come in waves and it all started spiralling out of control for the Indian batter. 

In an interaction with former India coach WV Raman on his talk show Wednesdays with WV, Jemimah spoke at length about her struggles, the hardcore fate that she had to accept of not making the squad and eventually putting in those insane hard yards of clawing her way back in the team. 

Jemimah said, "There were days, especially in this last year when I was dropped from the team I don't think I would have been able to make it without them (family)." 

She further added, "When I was dropped from the ODI World Cup and I was going through a very bad phase. I was not Jem at home and they knew it. I was trying to fake it for them, I was trying to be happy, show everything is good on the outside but on the inside I was hurting. Cricket is something I love the most, playing in World Cup is a dream and both those things didn't happen. For weeks I couldn't sleep well at home, I was getting dreadful dreams and waking up suddenly in the middle of the night." 

They say that family is all you have got and Jemimah was no exception to the same. Her healing started with her family as she chose to sit down one fine day with them and open up about her struggles. 

Jemimah continued, "One day I remember my mom and dad we sat down at home all three of us were trying to be happy for each other just so that we could be strong for each other. Then I broke down and I told my dad that I think I need to take a break from cricket for few days. My dad started crying, my dad never cries. He's like for me to go through something is fine but when I see my own daughter going through something, it's 10,000 times worse. And then my mom broke down completely. She is like it's so hard for me to be strong for the two people I love the most. And we all started crying and I think that was the moment when the healing started. I took a break then and just spent time with the family." 

Coming back to the national side for the Women's Asia Cup, Jemimah lit up the stage with an incredible display of confidence and exquisite strokeplay, amassing 217 runs throughout the tournament from the 8 matches that she played. 

Jemimah will be a part of the T20 series where India will be battling West Indies and South Africa in the final preparatory chapter ahead of the T20 World Cup in South Africa starting February.