Jemimah Rodrigues: Broke down in front of my parents when I was dropped from World Cup team

Jemimah Rodrigues has turned a corner since being left out of India’s ODI World Cup squad in January this year.

Jemimah Rodrigues was left out of India’s 18-player touring party for the Women’s ODI World Cup in New Zealand in March-April. | Photo Credit: AFP

Jemimah Rodrigues had a rough start to the year when a string of low scores saw selectors look past her for the Women’s ODI World Cup in New Zealand.

“Cricket is something I love, and playing the World Cup is a dream, and I couldn’t do both,” the 22-year-old told WV Raman on Wednesdays with WV, a weekly show on Sportstar.

“There were days, especially this past year, when I was dropped from the team, where I don’t think I would have made it if not for my family,” she added.

“I was dropped from the ODI World Cup. I was going through a very bad phase mentally. Raman sir, you know me, you know how much I love cricket and how much it affects me. I was not Jem at home, and they knew it. I was trying to fake it for them. I was trying to be happy like all’s good; everything’s happy and good on the outside. But on the inside, I was hurting. I couldn’t sleep well at home for weeks. I would get these dreadful dreams and wake up suddenly in the middle of the night. The first five seconds would be fine. But suddenly, these thoughts come to your head. Is it the end of the world for me? These were real thoughts. Now I can brush them aside, but back then, they were very real,” Jemimah said.

“At one point, I took my parents into confidence. We sat down, and I broke down and told dad that I need to take a break from cricket. My dad started crying. My dad never cries, and he said, “For me to go through something, it’s fine. But to see my own daughter go through something is 10,000 times worse.” My mom also broke down, as she said it was so hard for her to be strong for the two people she loves the most. That’s when the healing began for me. I took a break then. Just spent time with the family, called cousins home. Being around family helped me deal with the sadness. My family is very important to me, and a major part of my life is my family. Those who know me know this about me. I wouldn’t be where I am without them,” Jemimah added.

“After I got back to a normal headspace, I planned out how I was going to go about my days and weeks. At that point, I knew the domestic season was going to start in two months. I jotted down things I had to work on. I played matches at Azad maidan with the U19 and U23 boys. That gave me a lot of confidence. Then coming back felt good,” she added.

Catch the full episode of Wednesdays With WV featuring Jemimah Rodrigues on Sportstar’s YouTube channel.