‘We are enjoying the fruits of what they have sown’ - Jemimah Rodrigues reflects on growth of women’s cricket in India

Star India women’s batter Jemimah Rodrigues recently came forward and highlighted her delight over the growth of women’s cricket in India. According to Rodrigues, people have started giving attention to Indian cricket whether it is the women’s team or the men’s team any more.

It is worth noting that India’s consistent performances in the international circuit and the launch of the WPL (Women’s Premier League) have been a major factor in the success of women’s cricket.

Jemimah also credited the likes of Mithali Raj and Jhulan Goswami for their contribution to women’s cricket. She opined that the former cricketers are a major reason why people got to know about women’s cricket.

“When we started playing cricket, at least for me personally, the only two names I knew were Jhulan Goswami and Mithali Raj. I didn't even know how they looked, honestly, because there were no televised games. They did it without the recognition, without the fame, we are enjoying the fruits of what they have sown. Because of them, we have come here,” Rodrigues told Star Sports.

“Now there's Smriti [Mandhana], Harmanpreet [Kaur], you know the next generation that's come, I mean everyone knows about women's cricket. One of the things that have changed since the last few years is the excitement to see our games,” she added.

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I think that is the biggest motivation for us: Rodrigues

She also talked about how often people have started telling her how they see both the men’s and the women’s team as Indian teams. She opined that seeing the people cheering them has been the biggest motivation for them.

“Now people are coming and telling we don't care if it's a men's or women's team, we see the Indian team playing. That excitement, that josh (energy) that we get is I think the turning point and we are part of this generation, I think that is the biggest motivation for us,” Rodrigues said.