Rodrigues made her debut in 2018 and since then has represented India in 34 T20 and One Day Internationals. She has cemented her place in the World Cup squad and has always impressed everyone with her flamboyant style of batting.
She has already collected over 1000 runs. Jemimah ranks 4th in the ICC T2OI rankings in batting. She shared her excitement with presenter Mel Jones on the Road To The T20 World Cup podcast.
Jemimah says “I think it’s [preparations] going pretty well. We have got a good couple of matches. Now we’ll be going to Australia and we will have the tri-series. So, I think we have good match practice before the main tournament. And yes, of course, I have been working on some particular areas [of improvement] in my batting… So, yeah, it’s been going pretty well.”
Elaborating on the areas she is working on, Rodrigues said: Mumbai girl Jemimah Rodrigues is pumped up for the T20 World Cup 2020 Click To Tweet. Because looking at my size, you can make out I don’t have that much strength to hit the sixes (laughs)… but I’ve been working on that for quite some time.”
India will face the defending champions Australia in the opener. Aussies are Rodrigues’s favorite opponents and she wouldn’t shy hitting the ball out of the Park in Sydney.
“I think when it comes to Australia, you got to be the best or you can’t play. That’s the kind of team they are. My favorite team to play against is also Australia. It’s more of a mind game than just skills [when you play them on the field]. Aussies are naturally dominating and if you hold back a bit, they will sit on your head and not let you come up. So if you want to face them or do well against them, you got to bring your best game. You got to raise your standards.”
Rodrigues is expecting a good crowd turnout in Australia for the Indian women and hopes that her dream of playing in a World Cup final will finally take place, “Wherever we go we get Indian followers and supporters so we never feel away from home. We will be expecting a lot of crowds [in Australia] and that will be a boost for us. We get pumped up when we see them cheering for us. It’s a different energy that comes out. There is a different kind of positivity to it”
I think when it comes to Australia, you got to be the best or you can’t play. “As a young kid, I have always dreamed about playing the World Cup and not just playing, but doing well. And that too in packed stadiums. And this hasn’t happened to me so far, I wasn’t there in the 2017 World Cup. I can’t put it in words, how important it will be for me to be a part of the Indian team that plays in a World Cup final. It’s quite exciting. I’m really looking forward to it.”
Other than playing for India, her social media is also a hit, her open and refreshing attitude has earned her many followers.”I really love social media. And the main focus of my social media is that I don’t want to portray that I am something else. What I am off the field, I just want to put the same thing out there and I don’t want to hide anything. Sometimes you get a good response, sometimes you don’t get. When you score, people are happy.. when you don’t score, they say – ‘this is the reason why you are not scoring and you should switch off.’ But I just want to be myself.”
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