To work on “lack of strength”, India player Jemimah Rodrigues is currently working on increasing her bat speed, which, she hopes, will be helpful to hit big shots in the upcoming Women’s T20 World Cup. She is also working on her backfoot skills ahead of the big event, starting in Australia next month.
“I’m working more on my back foot, developing my back foot more and trying to increase my bat speed. Because looking at my size, you can make out I don’t have that much strength to hit the sixes … but I’ve been working on that for quite some time,” said Jemimah in a ‘Road To The T20 World Cup’ podcast.
Since her international debut in 2018, she has been doing good and also a key player of India. India will take on defending champions Australia in the opening game of the World Cup in Sydney on February 21, and the youngster believes India will have to be mentally strong against them.
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“I think when it comes to Australia, you got to be the best or you can’t play. That’s the kind of team they are. My favourite team to play against is also Australia. It’s more of a mind game than just skills (when you play them on the field),” Jemimah Rodrigues said.
“Aussies are naturally dominating and if you hold back a bit, they will sit on your head and not let you come up. So if you want to face them or do well against them, you got to bring your best game. You got to raise your standards,” she said.
“Wherever we go we get Indian followers and supporters so we never feel away from home. We will be expecting a lot of crowd and that will be a boost for us. We get pumped up when we see them cheering for us. It’s a different energy that comes out. There is a different kind of positivity to it,” she expressed.
Jemimah Rodrigues is looking forward to playing in the final of the tournament, which will be important in her life as well.
“As a young kid I have always dreamed about playing the World Cup and not just playing, but doing well. And that too in packed stadiums. And this hasn’t happened to me so far, I wasn’t there in the 2017 World Cup. I can’t put it in words, how important it will be for me to be a part of the Indian team that plays in a World Cup final. It’s quite exciting. I’m really looking forward to it,” she concluded.
