Jemimah Rodrigues, who won player of the match against Sri Lanka in her comeback game, said she feels fortunate to have spoken to Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma at a trying time.
The Indian World Cup team in New Zealand did not include Rodrigues. She made a significant 27-ball 36 not out to mark her return to international cricket and give India enough runs to defend in the opening T20 International on Thursday.
Jemimah Rodrigues on taking advice from Rishabh Pant and Rohit Sharma
Jemimah Rodrigues was motivated by Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant’s words of support to persevere through a challenging period and work on her comeback after being dropped from the Indian women’s team. Earlier this year, Rodrigues was dropped from the Indian ODI World Cup team. The talented batter was called back for the current tour of Sri Lanka, and she earned the selectors’ confidence right away.
She thanked Rohit and Pant for their advice and stated that she considers herself fortunate to have spoken with people like Rohit and Pant.
“My journey since the last Sri Lanka tour has not been smooth, it had its ups and downs. I have spoken to Rohit Sharma and Rishabh Pant, they told me these moments will define your career, they told me not to take it (being dropped from the squad before the World Cup) in a negative way. They told me I should take up the challenge and move ahead. I am blessed to have spoken to them,” Jemimah said.
After a brief middle-order collapse, her unbeaten 36-run knock helped India post a spirited 138 for 6. Rodrigues smashed three fours and a six during her innings.
“I have understood my game better in the four-five months, I have become calmer, I have changed through my height remains the same. I started preparing right after I was dropped. This inning means a lot, I was nervous initially but the late cut boundary helped me a lot in easing things up. I am back in the side after 4-5 months or maybe more than that. I was pumped up,” she added.
Twitter Reactions:
Jemimah Rodrigues said "In the last few months have helped me to understand the game better – I have talked to Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant – I am learning to bounce back".
— Johns. (@CricCrazyJohns) June 23, 2022
I have said this before.
Dropping Jemimah Rodrigues for the World Cup was a blunder. Not selecting her for ODIS still is unacceptable.
This is what she does.
— Yash Lahoti (@YvLahoti) June 23, 2022
Jemimah Rodrigues said "In the last few months have helped me to understand the game better – I have talked to Rohit Sharma, Rishabh Pant – I am learning to bounce back".
The Lovely nature of Rohit-Pant duo#15YearsOfROHITism #RohitSharma𓃵— Vansh45 (@RVansh25) June 23, 2022
Welcome back, Jemimah Rodrigues, missed out on the ODI World Cup, she has been down but in the first match of the tour, scored 36* from 27 balls including 3 fours and 1 six. #SLWvINDW pic.twitter.com/KDymydFils
— WOMEN CRICKET LIVE (@WomenCricLive) June 23, 2022
Very mature inning from Jemimah Rodrigues, came in when India was in trouble, rotated the strike well and finished it off with a six@JemiRodrigues #INDWvSLW
— Vaishali Bhutda (@Iam_Vaishali) June 23, 2022
Jemimah Rodrigues Player Of The Match 😁😍
— AkasH (@im_akash196) June 23, 2022
