NEW DELHI: India's star batter Jemimah Rodrigues didn't hold back, acknowledging that the team didn't play at their best during the 2024
Women’s T20 World Cup
in the UAE last month.
India's campaign fell short, leading to an early group-stage exit. They began with a tough 58-run loss to New Zealand, followed by victories over Pakistan and Sri Lanka. However, a nine-run defeat to Australia, coupled with Pakistan’s subsequent loss to New Zealand, ended India’s hopes of advancing further.
With the ODI World Cup scheduled for next year in India, Jemimah expressed confidence that the hosts will look to move past this setback and start afresh for the 50-over tournament at home.
“Honestly, if I can be very frank, we didn’t play the best cricket that we should have played as an Indian team. Each one of us knows that. It’s still hurting all of us," Jemimah told TimesofIndia.com in a virtual interaction during the
WBBL
.
"But at the same time, I know it’s hard, as it was one of those tournaments we would want to forget and move forward. Because we have the 50-over World Cup at home, we want to prepare well for that,” she added.
“We want to make sure as a team, we do well at the right time, and each player performs and takes the team through. So, in the end, I can’t pinpoint – what we spoke about in the dressing room was we need to look inside rather than pointing at others. Each individual knows what they need to do and how they need to get better and come,” Jemimah said.
Jemimah, who is representing Brisbane Heat in the Women’s Big Bash League 2024, also emphasised the value of playing in global leagues like the WPL, WBBL, CPL, and The Hundred for Indian cricketers.
"Playing these foreign leagues and playing in WPL does help because you play against the best in the world in all these leagues. And at the same time, you get to play in different conditions," Jemimah said.
"In India, we play in different conditions. Over here, every ground is too different to the other. I think that is one of the best parts of playing franchise cricket—that you get used to playing in different conditions. Imagine going out there and doing well, how much confidence you will get coming back into the Indian team. It’s good preparation going into the World Cup. The more matches we play, the better we become. That's the best part of having the WBBL, WPL, The Hundred, Caribbean Premier League, and the other leagues," she added.