‘I tried to fake it, I tried to be happy’: Jemimah Rodrigues on her 2022 World Cup

Sharing her feelings with former coach WV Raman on his YouTube channel ‘Wednesdays with WV’, Jemimah said: “When I was dropped from the ODI World Cup and I was having a very bad phase. I wasn’t Jem at home and they knew it. I tried to fake it for them, I tried to be happy, looks like everything is fine from outside but inside I was hurting.Cricket is something I love the most, playing in World Cup is a dream and both things didn’t come true.

The snub was a setback for the middle-order batter, who was brilliant in the Women’s Asia Cup, which was played a few months back. At that time, he had emerged as the leading run scorer of the tournament and scored 217 runs from 8 matches.

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Jemimah further added that she couldn’t sleep well at home for weeks and had horrible dreams and woke up suddenly in the middle of the night.

“One day I remember my mom and dad sitting at home and all three of us trying to be happy for each other so we could be strong for each other. Then I broke down and told my dad that I have to take a break from cricket for a few days. My father started to cry, my father never cries. She’s like, for me, I’m going through something, but when I see my own daughter going through something, it’s 10,000 times worse,” she said.

Meanwhile, India’s squad for the South Africa tri-series starting in January and the upcoming ICC Womens T20 World Cup 2023 has been announced.

The ICC Womens T20 World Cup 2023 begins on February 10, with India starting their campaign on February 12 against Pakistan in Cape Town.

Jemimah Rodrigues has managed to retain her place in the team despite low returns in India’s 1-4 series loss to mighty Australia. Left-arm pacer Anjali Sarvani is also part of the squad after her debut series against Australia. Other pace bowling options include Renuka Thakur and Pooja Vastrakar, whose inclusion in the team requires fitness.