'Every day, my dad used to chuck 300 balls when I batted' - Jemimah Rodrigues opens up on early cricketing struggles

Jemimah Rodrigues was amongst the most sought-after players at the recently concluded Women’s Premier League (WPL) auctions. After frantic bidding, Delhi Capitals got her home for a whopping Rs 2.2 crore – the fifth most expensive player of the inaugural league. 

But like most women cricketers in the country, it has been an uphill climb for the extremely versatile and talented Mumbai youngster. “It wasn’t the easiest journey but that got the best out of me,” is how the 22-year-old summed up her progress in an episode of ‘Know Your Stars’ available on JioCinema. 

“Every day, my dad used to chuck 300 balls when I batted. I got to know this later, but my mom told me that he used to come back and his hand would be fully sore, he couldn’t lift it. My mom would massage it every night. But he never told me, he just wanted me to get better and better,” said Jemimah about her dad, Ivan Rodrigues’, sacrifices. 

In fact, it was only by pure chance that Rodrigues (Senior) spotted the talent his daughter possessed. He sent her as a substitute for one of her brothers in an U-16 match at the behest of the school coach. “Jemimah went into bat. I thought she would get out quickly,” he recalled. “I came after one-and-a-half or two hours and she was still playing,” he said with a proud smile. “These big boys, it was an U-16 match. They were offering her chocolates for a catch. But nothing doing as she kept batting!” 

Ivan also revealed she signed her first autograph that day. “One gentleman saw her batting and then later came and took her autograph saying it would be difficult to get her signature when she became a big player. He still calls me when he sees her batting,” he said. 

Jemimah recalled those early days, saying: “We used to play at home with a plastic ball. My dad used to bowl under-arm and these balls swing a lot. I used to do my batting drills with them. That’s where I learned my cover drive, at home. We had a very small house at that time, five of us were staying over there.” 

The young batter’s perseverance is paying off magnificently and she has already scored 1,704 runs for India in 80 T20Is. Jemimah is now looking to top the run charts in the WPL that starts on March 4.