Jemimah Rodrigues raring to go after a three-month break

Since the conclusion of the inaugural edition of the Women’s Premier League (WPL), the only form of cricket that the Indian team have played is the ACC Womens Emerging Teams Asia Cup, where there was an emerging Indian women’s side that beat Bangladesh in the final. 

Barring that, there has been hardly any form of cricket for the top Indian stars. But the three-month break ends when the Women in Blue take on Bangladesh in the T20I series, which begins on Sunday (July 9). Ahead of the first fixture, star Indian batter Jemimah Rodrigues talked about the importance of needing a lot more on her power-hitting game. 

“Yes, I do. I need to work a lot more on my power-hitting game because it's not natural to me; I am more of a timer. My range-hitting drills are about adding power-hitting to my timing. I have specific sessions depending on what I am working on a given day,” Jemimah told ESPNCricinfo.

Jemimah was involved in the first edition of WPL, which brought around some of the biggest stars in world cricket together in India, for the first time. Sharing a dressing room with several overseas players, Jemimah drew the stark contrast between ‘fitness’ and ‘skills’. 

“Yes. Some overseas players give more importance to fitness than skills. They might even miss a skill session, but they will not miss a fitness session. In India, we focus more on our skills. Everyone is right in their own way, and we don't necessarily have to be like someone else. As long as we understand what our standards are, the benchmarks we have set, and the standards that are required to give the best to our team, we work towards it,” Jemimah added.

But for Jemimah, who has grown up batting in the Maidans, long sessions of batting remains integral to her practise. 

“I've grown up loving batting. I have to bat a lot. That's me. I don't want to ever change that. Maybe someone else might not want to bat so much. For them, it is about feeling good in the nets and coming out. That differs from person to person even in fitness aspects, but it is important to realise what standard you need to be the best in India, or in the world, and to defeat the best in the world,” she added.

Jemimah also had the prime opportunity of working closely with Australian captain and legendary skipper Meg Lanning. On that experience, Jemimah insisted that Lanning’s work ethics and attitude were something that stood out to her and was definitely a cricketer that she really looks up to. 

“Because I spent time with the Delhi [Capitals] team, I'd say Meg Lanning. She is someone I really look up to. I have seen her so much in person - the way she carries the team, and her consistency with the bat and also her fitness. Since we had night games during WPL, it was 1am by the time we used to get back to the hotel from the ground on match days. On such days, my mind was very active though the body was exhausted, and I wouldn't sleep until 3am or 4am.”