Jemimah Rodrigues interview: India's young gun on battling stereotypes, dealing with expectations and more

Jemimah Rodrigues is one of the brightest upcoming stars in world cricket. The first-ever player for India from this millennium, Rodrigues has turned heads from an early age. With her talent and maturity, she has already established herself in the Indian women's team. Her match-winning ability from the beginning speaks for her ability to carry Indian cricket in future, and skipper Harmanpreet Kaur would be hoping for the young gun to fire in the upcoming tri-series.

The team is currently in Australia for a tri-series, also featuring England, and India will kickstart their campaign with the series opener against England on 31 January in Canberra's Manuka Oval. In this interview with Firstpost, the youngster opens up about fighting gender stereotypes, her journey in India colours so far, and meeting Sachin Tendulkar.

Excerpts:

Please tell us about your beginning.
I used to play with my brothers, Enoch and Eli occasionally. They used to play at home and I am the kind of person who cannot sit idle for long. So, I also picked up the bat and joined them. Then I started taking coaching with my brothers when I was four. It was only after getting selected for the Mumbai Under-19 team at the age of 12, I realised that I could take this game as a career option and play seriously.

What kind of social stereotypes did you face while growing up?
I faced them somewhat. Nobody really came and said that she is a girl and she should not play, but I used to face problems at practice. Since I used to practice with the boys and it was not very common before the 2017 World Cup, it would surprise a lot of people. Also, I was little and small in stature, hence some people raised questions. But I got full support from the family. Yes, we had to face fewer obstacles compared to the seniors and we often talk about it. The achievements of Jhuludi (Jhulan Goswami) and the other senior players made life much easier for us, the youngsters.

When I started playing the game in the gully, people used to think that I was a boy. Even when I started to go for coaching, I used to practice with my brothers as there were not many girls playing cricket back then. But now when I go back to the ground where I began, I see a lot of girls playing cricket. Nowadays parents support their daughters and approach us for tips and coaching. This is indeed a great feeling. In coming days, this will even get better as we keep delivering good results for the country.

How was your experience of meeting Sachin Tendulkar before debut?
It felt good that how our paths were kind of similar. I have also played for Yorkshire which was Sachin sir’s first county. I met him at his place after getting my debut call for India. He asked me whether I was nervous. I said that I was. He said that it’s good to be a bit nervous because it means you care for your game. This immediately put me in so much ease and I realised that it is normal to be nervous. When I asked him about the kind of preparation required for the bouncy pitches in South Africa, he told me that either I can think too much of bouncy pitches and the ball swinging a lot or I can think how the ball would come to bat nicely. That was a great help for me.

How was your initial experience in the Indian dressing room?
At first, I was very nervous that I would be sharing the dressing room with the legends of Indian cricket. But they made me feel very comfortable. In my very first net session, Jhuludi came up to me and congratulated me for the selection. It meant so much to me. A legend of the game congratulating a youngster like me, it made me feel very welcomed. Then Harmanpreet also came and talked to me. From the very beginning, my room partner was Smriti. She also made me very comfortable. I never felt that I was a new girl in the team.

How was your experience of developing a partnership with Mithali Raj on debut?
It was one of the best moments for me. I was playing my first match for India and was able to contribute when my team needed me. It was a crucial partnership with her. Batting with Mitudi (Mithali Raj) is always fun as you can learn a lot from her.

How is your equation with Harmanpreet and Smriti?
I think they have backed me a lot. They gave me the opportunity to go and express myself and let me play the way I wanted to play. And that was very important. Before the Sri Lanka tour, I did not do well in the Challenger and also scored a duck in the only ODI I played. I was very low but before the T20 matches, Harrydi (Harmanpreet Kaur) assured me, 'Don’t worry, you are going to play all the matches.' When your captain is backing you, it gives you lots of confidence. Eventually, I ended as the best batter of the tournament.

Smriti has been a big support and we talk a lot. Her advice made lots of sense when she asked me to not try to bat like Harmanpreet or Smriti and bat like Jemimah. After that, I stuck to my natural game and followed what suits me the best. I feel I am really blessed as senior players often shared their experiences and helped me grow.

What differences have you have noticed playing under two different captains — Mithali Raj and Harmanpreet Kaur?
I think both are good and you cannot compare as they are different personalities. Mitudi is calmer whereas Harrydi is more aggressive. But you can see that both have delivered for the team.

What is your favourite batting position and innings?
I always loved opening but I do not mind batting at any other position as long as it is useful for the team. I scored 72 in Auckland against New Zealand and that was pretty satisfactory because Smriti and Harmanpreet were dismissed early. So I had to take responsibility to bat long and I could do that.

How was your experience of playing KIA Super League?
It was great. Sharing the dressing room with Alyssa Healy and Lauren Winfield was a great learning opportunity. Watching them practice and how they prepare before the game motivates you and helps you get better. It was also special not only because I scored lots of runs but it was the first time I travelled to the UK without my Indian teammates. I had to stay alone and do everything on my own. It helped me grow as a person.

What are your thoughts on Women’s IPL?
It will be great exposure for India’s women cricketers to develop their game by playing along with the greats like Sophie Devine, Suzie Bates, etc and learn. Even the overseas players enjoyed last year and were asking when this would happen again. We also had a good audience.

You had a mixed West Indies tour and things got better towards the end. How was it?
Change in mindset helped me a lot. I was getting restless after scoring a few runs and losing my wicket. I was getting impatient after playing just 2-3 dot balls. Then my coach suggested that it’s okay to play a few dot balls and that I can quickly recover the run rate at the later stage as long as I am there. He advised me to set up small targets. Raman sir (coach WV Raman) helped me a lot in recovering my form.

How has coach WV Raman helped team’s batting overall?
We had a conditioning camp at NCA a few months back where he focussed on the batting for the entire team which also included the bowlers. At first, we had to practice for long hours against the bowling machine and then we had few matches against the boys. This helped in overall improvement.

We used to practice one particular shot for one full day against the bowling machine and that helped us understand the utilisation of the shot — when to play and when not to. The match against the boys then gave us lots of confidence. They were sharper and quicker and when you hit them for boundaries they would come back with quicker deliveries. The batting against girls thus became much easier as we already faced faster bowlers.

What is your take on Shafali Verma?
Shafali is a fearless cricketer. It did not matter to her that we were playing against West Indies in West Indies. What she is doing at such a young age is unbelievable and this is a huge boost for the team to see a 15-year-old hitting those big sixes and giving such great starts in T20. Shafali and I, we generally talk a lot but nothing specifically about the game. She is already very clear what she needs to do and the coaches also told her about her role in the team.

What do you feel about Test cricket?
Personally, I like to play all three formats but yes, when we saw the players from Australia and England contesting for Women’s Ashes it felt good. We also can have good longer format games.

How have you modified your game for better results?
As I started playing international cricket, I realised that being strong in only one area cannot be enough to sustain. The opponent bowlers will definitely make plans accordingly. Initially, I was a front foot player mainly but then I realised that I need to be strong on both front and back foot to have a longer career. So I gradually started practicing to play more on the back foot and I am still working to improve my game.

How do you deal with growing expectations?
I think for me, there is also the expectation from media and other people to perform as a young girl. I asked Virat Kohli once how he copes up with everything. He said that he does not focus on crowd and media expectations. He focuses on the scoreboard and the team’s requirement. Sachin sir also told me an incident during World Cup when they were under immense pressure of expectation. Smriti once told me people are expecting from you because you have the capability. So, you do not have to worry and play your game. It is definitely tough but the more you gather experience you get adjusted. I try to not focus on such issues. Even if someone criticises me, I do not read everything and focus on my work.

How are you preparing for World T20?
We had a nice fitness camp in NCA and yes we did have the World T20 in our mind. I am working on my game and trying to identify the areas I need to work upon. The focus is also on getting better in the areas where I am already doing well.

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