Jemimah Rodrigues, the star Indian batter would surely not be happy with the past year. She clearly would have wanted a better year of good games and high personal records and individual scores.
Just 12 months ago, she was dropped out of the World Cup squad for New Zealand. This left her heart broken, hoping to make a comeback into the squad as soon as possible. Her return wasn’t very delightful for the fans. She couldn’t hold ground for the longest time and the spectators still await her fine form like from the yesteryears.
Today, the player is counted among the finest cricketers. Yet, the kind of pressure she is compelled to feel as a leading star must have had reverse effects on her mental health. In her interview with WV Raman, Jemimah opened up about her situation in January and how she longed to get back on the field.
“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 to WV Raman on Wednesdays with WV, a weekly show on Sportstar.
Her love for the game is pretty obvious to all. Jemimah Rodrigues did feel the pressure when she was left out of the squad,
“Cricket is something I love, and playing the World Cup is a dream, and I couldn’t do both.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 continued.
This is when she spoke about the blessing parents are in disguise and how much affection and constant assurance are needed during such tough times.
“My family is very important to me” – Jemimah Rodrigues
“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,” she further added.
Jemimah Rodrigues further added, “At the same time, it is a blessing. I am the youngest here, and I have two elder brothers. They’re very over-protective of me. I am little Jem here at home too. The kind of love and support I get from them. I complain about them, but it’s such a blessing to have them.”
The swashbuckling batter also spoke about growing up with siblings and how fun it is to have someone around who is of about the same age and is able to understand and comfort you. And well at the same time there are innumerable petty fights and meaningless quarrels.
“It’s very annoying. Growing up, we’d had so many fights. We’ve broken so many glasses at home. Mom and dad would get so angry. They would never let us watch Tom and Jerry and wrestling and all at home because we’d do the same thing at home,” she shared.
She also shared about coming back to normal headspace and how.
“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,” Jemimah Rodrigues concluded.
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