On The Front Foot

While a month in England taught her many lessons, Jemimah Rodrigues is now gearing up for a busy season.

- Shayan Acharya

Jemimah Rodrigues is your girl next door! She loves travelling on the Mumbai locals, is in love with her guitar, and is the batting mainstay of India’s women’s cricket team!

All of 19, Jemimah — Jemi to her teammates — has made her presence felt on the Indian cricketing circuit with her smart batting style. After enjoying success at the international level, she had a memorable outing for the Yorkshire Diamonds in the Kia Super League in England, where she finished second among the run-scorers with 401 runs, behind only Danielle Wyatt’s 466. While the month in England did teach her many lessons, Jemimah is now gearing up for a busy season. In conversation with Sportstar, the opener speaks about her game, life and more...

From being a talented cricketer in Mumbai to being India’s batting mainstay... How would you describe the journey so far?

I still remember that the first bat was gifted to me by my grandfather when I was just three. It was a plastic bat and I would play with my brothers, Enoch and Eli. That’s how I started playing cricket. Then I slowly got selected for Mumbai, then for the zonal, then for India under-19 camps. Looking back, I didn’t expect that I will reach so far so soon, but everything fell into place. The right people came into my life — the coaches, the mentors, my father (Ivan) coaches me— so everything just went well. I still can’t believe that I have reached here today. I am grateful for that.

What are the areas that you have particularly worked on?