Jemimah Rodrigues skipped her 12th board exams for India debut

India Women batter Jemimah Rodrigues, who has impressed many with her talent, skipped her 12th board exams so that she could make her debut for India. The youngster was picked for India’s tour of South Africa in February 2018 and made her international debut in a T20I match Potchefstroom. Her one-day career began in March 2018 against Australia.

The 22-year-old, who is currently representing Delhi Capitals (DC) in the Women’s Premier League (WPL) 2023, was purchased at the auction for a hefty sum of Rs 2.2 crore.

Her success in the game will not surprise her near and dear ones because Jemimah started playing season cricket at the age of 4. For better sports facilities, the cricketer’s family shifted from Bhandup to Bandra (west) in Mumbai.

Apart from cricket, Jemimah also played hockey as a kid. Her father Ivan was her junior coach at school and he has been training his daughter since she was a child. Jemimah gives credit for her success to her dad and calls him her ‘hero’.

She was only 13 when she was selected for the U-19 state cricket team. Jemimah was also picked for Maharashtra U-17 and U-19 in hockey.

Not many may be aware that Jemimah is only the second women cricketer after Smriti Mandhana to smash a double hundred in a domestic one-day match. Playing against Saurashtra, she hammered 202 off 163 balls and grabbed some eyeballs. In June 2018, she was honored with the Jagmohan Dalmiya award for best junior women's player (domestic). She received the award from none other than Indian cricket legend MS Dhoni.

Jemimah Rodrigues: Shining on the big stage

Having played 80 T20Is, the aggressive right-handed batter has scored 1704 runs at an average of 29.89 and a strike rate of 114.20, with 10 half-centuries. In ODIs, she has 394 runs from 21 matches, with three fifties.

Apart from the WPL, the 22-year-old has also represented Melbourne Renegades in the Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL) and Northern Superchargers in The Hundred.

In the first season of The Hundred in 2021, she smashed 249 runs in seven matches at an average of 41.50 and was the second-highest run-scorer. She clobbered 92* off 43 balls in a clash against Welsh Fire, which was the highest score of the edition.