If there is a poll for the most likeable cricketer in the India women's team, Jemimah Rodrigues might well be a frontrunner to win it. This is even without considering her landmark innings in the semifinal of the 2025 ODI World Cup against Australia on October 30. She is the perfect example of how an aggressive and motivated player can still play with a smile all the time.
However, little did we know that the smile that she had been showing over the last 12 months had a lot of pain hidden beneath it. Shortly after her match-defining innings against Australia, Rodrigues spoke at the post-match presentation ceremony about having battled depression in recent times.
"I've almost cried every day throughout this tour. I was not doing well mentally, going through a lot of anxiety," said Rodrigues while trying to keep her emotions in check.
"Then being dropped was another challenge for me. But I think all I had to do was show up and God just took care of everything."
Jemimah Rodrigues the gem of a person u are 🤍 pic.twitter.com/vXWdPpc3lI
— Plow Wan (@usermodeabc) October 30, 2025
How did Rodrigues fall into the trap of depression? Mental health is a very delicate subject and in today's highly competitive as well as ruthless world, depression is an easy enemy to make. More so for people in the sports field with cricket being the toughest of them for those in India.
Losing Mumbai Gymkhana membership
For those unaware, Jemimah was the first woman cricketer to get membership at the Mumbai Gymkhana when she got the honour in 2023. However, in October 2024, her membership was revoked on religious grounds. The reason? Her father Ivan had used her membership to conduct religious activities within the club's premises.
Allegations of conversion meetings
While this was a mistake on the part of Ivan, Jemimah's father, the 25-year-old was dragged into the topic and had to face the wrath of the aggressive social media users, especially from those with right-wing ideology. There were allegations that Ivan was conducting these meetings to convert people into Christianity. However, the club later revealed that no evidence was found to support these accusations.
While it was clear that Ivan conducted religious meetings by exploiting his daughter's club membership, no concrete proofs were obtained in this regard and hence, the allegations of conversion died down steadily. However, the social media outrage against Jemimah and her father continued.
Social media hatred by right-wing activists
The right-wing enthusiasts were ruthless in their bid to tarnish Jemimah's image and self-confidence. They went to the extent of posting a very old video of the cricketer attending a religious meeting where she is seen attending prayers with the pastor. This video went viral and Jemimah was subject to cyber bullying of the highest order.
Being dropped in World Cup 2022 and during World Cup 2025
For no fault of hers, Jemimah found herself dropped from the XI midway through the tournament as India tried to find the right combination. To her credit, she hadn't let her personal issues affect her form in 2025. If anything, this was her best international year, having gotten her first-ever century for India in January 2025. This was after being dropped from the squad for the 2022 edition, a development that broke her.
In this edition, she was left out when India were on a losing streak but as fate would have it, Jemimah got her chance to make a comeback at the business end of the tournament. This time, she was in no mood to give the selectors a reason to exclude her. Jemimah stroked a fluent 75 against New Zealand and then reserved her best for the best side in the world in the knockout fixture.
Handling depression
Even while she was doing all this on the field, Jemimah has been struggling to cope with anxiety. Success can give you confidence but depression isn't an easy hole to get out of. However, like she mentioned at the presentation ceremony, the support from her family and teammates has been surreal, and has helped her to stay afloat.
"In this time, my mom, my dad, they supported me a lot. There was Arundhati who almost every day I've cried in front of... She checked on me every single day. There was Smriti who helped me," said Jemimah at the post-match press conference.
"She also knew what I was going through. Few of the net sessions, she was just standing there. Even yesterday she came. She just stood there - didn't say much - but she just knows that her presence is important for me. There's been Radha who's always been there taking care of me. I'm so blessed to have friends I can call family, that I didn't have to go through it alone and it's okay to ask for help. And that's what happened. My mom went through a lot. My family went through a lot. But everyone stood by me and believed in me when I didn't. When I couldn't."
