Rodrigues sheds light on her mental struggles while emphasising that it is ‘okay to ask for help’ in such situations.
Rodrigues opens up to help others: ‘It’s okay to ask for help’.
In the weeks preceding her match-winning undefeated 127 against Australia in the World Cup semi-final, Jemimah Rodrigues described a period of anxiousness that left her “numb” and caused her to tears. During the press conference following the game, Rodrigues broke down and expressed her hope that by sharing her story, others going through similar difficulties would find support.
“I will be very vulnerable here because I know if someone is watching, this might be going through the same thing and that’s my whole purpose of saying it. Nobody likes to talk about their weakness. I was going through a lot of anxiety at the starting of the tournament,” she said, pausing to hold back tears.
“It was a lot, you know, before few games also, I used to call my mom and cry the entire time, let it all out. Because when you are going through anxiety, you just feel numb. You don’t know what to do. You are trying to be yourself. And also in this time, my mum, my dad, they supported me a lot. And also there was Arundhati [Reddy], who I think almost every day I have cried in front of her.
“Later I was joking, saying ‘you don’t come in front of me, I will start crying.’ But she checked on me every single day. There was Smriti [Mandhana], who helped me. 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, just because he just knows that her presence is important for me.
“There has been Radha [Yadav], who has, always been there, taking care of me. I am 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.”
Rodrigues started the event with a few low scores, including two ducks, but she had advanced to the semi-final on the strength of a 76 not out against New Zealand. Given Rodrigues’ standing as one of India’s best hitters, it was a risky decision to omit her for the game against England in favour of an extra spinner. She admitted that it was challenging to maintain patience, but she made the decision to persevere and have faith that her time will come.
“When you are dropped, you have a lot of doubts because I always want to contribute to the team. But that day, I couldn’t do much sitting out. And then, when you come back in, it’s a lot more pressure, than everything that was happening in the past month.
“But sometimes all you need to do is, just hang in there and, things fall into place. So, I am very grateful for the people who believed in me when I couldn’t, and were there for me and understood me because I couldn’t do this on my own.”