The Indian women’s cricket team had a good outing in the recently concluded Commonwealth Games that were played in Birmingham from July 29 to August 7. Led by the dashing all-rounder, Harmanpreet Kaur, India reached the finals, however, lost to the mighty Australians, to clinch a silver medal at the mega event. One of the sculptors that carved India’s success story in the Commonwealth Games was Jemimah Rodrigues. The right-handed batter from Mumbai mustered 146 runs in five matches at a stellar average of 73 and a healthy strike rate of 117.
After enjoying success in the Commonwealth Games, Rodrigues joined the Northern Superchargers camp for the second edition of the Hundred that is being played in England. The competition kick-started on August 11 and will go on till September 3. After missing out from playing in the 50-over World Cup that was held in New Zealand in March-April this year, Rodrigues was seen in the T20I squad for the Commonwealth Games. She credits the inaugural season of the Hundred for this. In one of the matches last year, she scored an unbeaten 92 and completed the tournament as the second highest run scorer with 249 runs in seven matches. With global franchise leagues such as the Hundred and WBBL uplifting women’s cricket, women’s IPL which has been a topic of discussion for many years is certainly the need of the hour.
“Women’s Indian Premier League can build on the Hundred’s work”
~ Jemimah Rodrigues #TheHundred #CricketTwitter pic.twitter.com/dJd6gTaTHn
— Female Cricket (@imfemalecricket) August 17, 2022
During one of the events at Trinity Leeds, Rodrigues said, “The IPL is looking like it’s going to happen for sure this time, and we’re really, really looking forward to it. It will change things massively, like how the Hundred changed cricket in England and the WBBL [Women’s Big Bash League] changed cricket in Australia, I’m sure the women’s IPL will change the game drastically in India, and maybe that will be key to winning the gold and winning trophies.”
In recent times, there have been several news agencies have reported that the women’s IPL is likely to start from March 2023. Franchisees that own men’s teams in the IPL, including Mumbai Indians, Chennai Super Kings, and Rajasthan Royals have also expressed their interest in buying women’s teams. It will be interesting to see if the women’s IPL finally hits the ground next year or if the fans are forced to wait to see their favorite cricketers in the much-awaited women’s IPL.
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I am a former cricketer having represented Mumbai University at All India University level. I was a part of MCA probables for the U-19 and U-23 age group. I have been an avid cricket writer for the last five years. Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D from IIT Bombay.