Jemimah Rodrigues is at 80%. The last 20 is nearly here

Gearing up for her maiden ODI World Cup, Jemimah Rodrigues reflects on the ups and downs of her journey to becoming an all-formats cricketer for India, playing franchise cricket around the world, batting in a new position, her captaincy aspirations, and more.

How are you feeling right now? Two ODI centuries, two series wins in England, then some time at home, and now you head into a home ODI World Cup.

To be honest, more relaxed. It's been a long, hectic season. Overall, I'm just happy with the way we played cricket in England. Winning a T20I series there for the first time was big for us. And there is a lot of potential also in this team to keep getting better. So I think that's the ultimate goal: to keep getting better. Personally also, I am really happy with the way things are going. I don't want to think too far ahead nor be too much in the past. Every day my goal is how I can keep getting better. And whichever situation I am in, how I can contribute towards the team.

If we compare 2025 to 2024, last year there was only one half-century in 12 ODI innings. But this year you have seven so far. Did you have to make any mental or technical changes to convert your starts, or did you have to just see through time to find some form?

The first thing was, till 2024 we were playing a lot of T20s. I myself had not played a lot of ODIs then. I had to give myself some time to get used to that format too. If you see my T20 career, I think I have played more than 108 [112] matches. Sometimes you just need some time to adjust to the 50-over challenge. And the second thing was also the batting position I was at [she moved down to No. 5]. So maybe I didn't score as many fifties, but I did get a lot of impact innings. Because sometimes I walk in in the last ten overs or the last 15 overs. So I wouldn't judge myself more on the stats or the milestones or things like that. I would rate myself on the impact I have had.

But yes, at the same time it was also a conscious effort [about] how I can carry through my innings and make it longer. I understood that if I am there, I know the team can get a better score. Because I run well between the wickets, I understand the game, and I know, whoever I am batting with, I know we can have a great partnership. Once you are set, it's always better for a set batter to see us through till the end. So the conscious effort was how I can finish the game for the team and [help] us to win the match.

You said earlier this year that the way you got out in the first ODI of the year, against Ireland - where you were stumped for 9 - that probably triggered something. You were angry with yourself, and then you scored your first ever ODI century in the next game. What happened there?

Yeah, I was really upset because after a long time I got so many overs to bat and I just felt like I threw my wicket [away]. The next game, I just didn't think too much about scoring a hundred. I just thought: how can I be there till the end and make sure I get the runs for the team? How can I see us through at least till the 43rd over or something. Harleen [Deol] and I were batting, I remember, and that was the conversation we had: let's build a partnership. Because we got a great start, but we lost back-to-back wickets. It's just like… getting that first hundred felt nice because it [was] a sigh of relief. Till you get your first one, that pressure is always there. But after getting that, I know that many more are just going to flow from here. So it's just a matter of getting the first one.

You spoke about your batting position, and you've batted all the way from opening to No. 6 in international cricket. Recently you moved down to Nos. 4 and 5. What were the changes you had to make to play the older ball, to tackle the bowlers' variations in the death overs?

I'll start with T20s. [One of the early games] I batted at No. 5 was the T20I against South Africa [July 2024]. Firstly, I wasn't even sure if I would be able to do the role. The team had conveyed that we really want you to bat there, to handle the middle overs, and to see us through, because we were losing wickets from the 11th to the 20th over, so our run rate was going down. I said, okay, but I was myself not sure would I be [able to do it]… Because I have never in my life batted at No. 5. At No. 3, I know I can control the tempo, I can run well between the wickets, I can make sure I play a role where we are keeping up the run rate, but at the same time, I can bat through. But at No. 5, what happens sometimes is, you walk in as a finisher. And I think that was something that I had to really work on.

Play 07:29

Jemimah Rodrigues: "The dream is there to one day lead the Indian team"

Batting at No. 5 came as a blessing in disguise too, because I didn't know I had that game until I was put in that position. So one thing that I very consciously changed, nothing about the technique, but just about the mindset: I started practising in the nets from the first ball, taking the bowler on. I thought, what if I have to go [to bat] and we have five overs left and we need ten runs an over? So, very consciously, every net session I used to go in with that mindset: "I am going to take it on from the first ball." And I was okay failing. I gave myself license to try, because if I wouldn't try, I would never know. And then I would analyse: this is where the mistake happened in the nets - what can I do better?

Then the next time, if the ball was in the same position, I tried hitting it again, but with the rectified technique or the rectified body position or whatever. That was one of the big shifts which happened, which took time. But when I walked in to bat [in a game], I was very prepared to take it on. I was in England and I think one of the interviewers told me, "Your strike rate suddenly went from 110 to 145-50." And I was also amazed. "Wow, when did this happen?" But then I realised that that role helped me find a game in me that I didn't know I had.

In one-dayers, it was more about understanding the situation. No. 5 is sometimes a very tricky position to be at because there were times I was walking out in the powerplay, in the seventh over. There were times I was walking out in the 35th over. It was just about giving myself some time to get used to the format and get used to batting in different roles. I remember I was overthinking it a lot because every match I was getting a different situation and I had never played in such a situation. I know how to start, like if I walk in from the start, I know how to go. But just giving myself some time to get used to the format, now it just flows. I just play the situation, whatever the team needs.

Is it fair to say the change in position pushed you out of your comfort zone?

It is fair to say that. And like I said, if that had not happened, I maybe wouldn't have tried a few shots that I have started playing. I wouldn't try to access different areas of the ground. Because for me, it is not just about strength. Yes, I can clear [the boundary] when I have to, but it is also about how smartly I can get my runs. How I can access those areas, maybe, which nobody accesses. And at the same time hit the gaps, keep running, be as effective as someone who uses a lot of power, but do it with more smartness and get the same results.

When you were talking about this batting style, you said last year during the WPL that you also took inspiration from Virat Kohli. There were a lot of similarities in your approach, especially in the T20 format. Have you met him and had the chance to talk about all this?

Yeah, I have met him. I think twice I have had very long conversations with him about batting. And in fact, taking it on from the first ball, that mindset, I got it from him. This was during the IPL [2024] when I had a back injury, and RCB were playing at Chinnaswamy where I was doing my rehab [at the National Cricket Academy]. So I asked him and he was kind enough [to talk to me]. We had a one-and-a-half-hour long conversation, which was very, very big for me. This speaks of how much he wants to help the younger generation and wants to leave a mark.

The first question I asked him was about how he was not having a great run for two years. I mean, he was scoring but it was like he had set his standards so high that people were like, "He is underperforming." But then came that India-Pakistan game at the MCG [2022 T20 World Cup]. I asked him, "What was going through your mind when you walked in there? There was so much pressure - how did you take it?" And the first thing he told me was: "What was going on in your mind when you played the India-Pakistan game in South Africa [2023 T20 World Cup]?" In my head I was like, "He follows everything!" (laughs) It just speaks of his humility to just even care about what I thought during that match. That conversation really helped me with my game. We didn't speak much about technique, we just spoke more towards the mental aspect and how we approached the game.

You have played many sports - basketball, football, and hockey at state level. How did doing that from a young age shape you as an athlete overall, mentally as well?

Playing multiple sports has helped me a lot. Yes, there comes a fitness part of it. Hockey [involves] a lot of running, a lot of wrist work, which helps me in my [cricket] game. But also, mentally you are accustomed to different situations, different conditions, maybe not the same as cricket, but you are training your mind also - the situation is different but the pressure is the same as you will face in a cricket game.

Rodrigues with her father, Ivan, who has also been one of her coaches. She says having him push her to pick one of cricket or hockey at 11 was one of the most challenging decisions of her life Annesha Ghosh / © ESPNcricinfo Ltd

I think that, mentally, has helped me a lot. When I played hockey for Maharashtra, I remember I was the youngest there. And when I came into cricket, I was the youngest there too at that time. But I never had the feeling that I am the youngest. For me, all I cared was to hit the ball and get runs. And hockey also put me in such a situation, where there were seniors, but I was never really bothered that they are senior and I am junior. When we were on the field, we were on the field, and I had to somehow make my team win. So that helped me a lot. And just constantly being in those pressure situations helps you absorb pressure even more, and a lot quicker.

There was a time when you had to pick cricket over hockey at a young age. How did you make that choice?

That was one of the most challenging decisions I had to make in my life. I remember dad one day was like, "Okay, sit down, I need to talk to you." He's like, "See, I know you love both the sports, but we'll have to make a decision here because both are clashing and it's hard to balance both because cricket's throughout the year." And I couldn't make it for hockey practice because I was touring or [cricket] Under-19s were going on at that time. I said, "Dada, but I love both. I don't want to leave hockey." He was like, "I know, I know, but we'll have to [make a choice]. At least for now, make a decision."

So it's like this 11-year-old girl had to make a decision about her future and she has no idea what's going to happen. (laughs) And then I was like, "I've reached a higher level in cricket than hockey," because I had played zones for cricket and state for hockey. So I said we'll go ahead with cricket. But the dream is still alive to play hockey and cricket both for India. I have no idea how it's going to happen, but it's still a dream. Let's see.

You must be thrilled then that cricket is going to the Olympics in 2028?

Yeah, very excited. Actually, when I played the Commonwealth [Games 2022], I was so excited. I thought I'll play Commonwealth and Olympics in the hockey team. But God had other ways and we got a Commonwealth silver in cricket, and [it was the] first time cricket was introduced. So I'm so looking forward to the 2028 Olympics. It's going to be great.

Did living close to Sachin Tendulkar's house in Bandra, Mumbai, have an influence in making you pick cricket over hockey?

I'll tell you a cool story. When India won the 2011 World Cup, at that time from my balcony I could see the entrance to his house. And I remember I was 11 years old. For me, I didn't know the significance of a World Cup. I didn't know how big it was. I knew it was big, but like how I know it now, I didn't know it then. I remember somehow people got to know when he's coming home [from the tournament]. I remember the entire street was packed. We couldn't get out of our house. I remember my dad ran to the terrace to see him. Because for dad, Sachin Tendulkar is like… you know how it is [in India]. I was just looking, and I could see his Audi coming, and then he opens the door and he's walking there.

So if you say that staying next to him helped, I think that was the moment that started that dream. Okay, one day, I will lift the World Cup and what a feeling that would be. Because I saw the craze in India, in Mumbai especially. People were losing it on the streets. So I think that was when the dream started: one day, I want to do the same thing for India and win the World Cup.

"I love the leadership role in general. And I always feel that even in domestic and all, whenever that role has been given to me, I've done a lot better as a captain than as a player. So I really, really enjoy it. I'm looking forward to the opportunity whenever I get it" Matthew Lewis / © ICC/Getty Images

That's actually very similar to his own story. When asked how he picked up cricket, he has always said that the 1983 World Cup win was the turning point for him. And he was ten at the time.

Oh, wow. I didn't know this story. Then there are a lot of similarities: like, he practised at MIG [Cricket Club, in Mumbai], I also practised at MIG. He played for Yorkshire in county for the first time, I played for Yorkshire Diamonds [in the Kia Super League]. Let's hope the World Cup… (laughs)

A prominent aspect of your game is fielding, and it looks like it comes naturally to you. It's not something that a lot of players like. They either focus on bowling or batting. How do you describe your love for fielding?

The thing is that one of the biggest pluses for me is that I love fielding. I've always enjoyed fielding. To some extent I had it natural, but I had to work on it and still work on it. Like: how I can keep getting better? And I believe that even if you take the best fielders in the world, they work on their fielding to become better.

I [ask myself] how can I contribute more to the team? And fielding is a big aspect. I think it's one of the most selfless things you can do as a team-mate, to field for your bowler or to field for your team. And runs saved is equal to runs scored. There will be days where maybe with a bat I would have not contributed, but I know I can still contribute to the team. And I think that eagerness and that mindset helps me be more hungry to save runs or take catches or run around, dive, give it my all. If I stop it or no, that's secondary. But I will give my all, and I'll have that intent every single time.

And again, Virat inspires me in that also. Because you see him on the field, he's so energetic, he's so charged up. I always looked up to him for batting inspiration. But when I saw him with so much energy on the field, I think that ignited something in me again.

You've already played a lot of international cricket, all three formats, and T20 leagues around the world. You've had your share of ups and down. Being dropped or out of form is a part of every sportsperson's career. What does that teach you and how does that shape you as a person, not just as a sportsperson?

I would put it this way that if someone asked me today, "Would you want to change anything that has happened in your life?" Anything, even the worst things, I would say no. And I would say this because all those moments, they've come together and made me the player I am today. A lot of times we just see the highs and we feel, "Wow, great, I want to be there." But if you ask any sportsperson, it's actually failing, it's being dropped, it's these low times that teach you so much, that shape you so much as a cricketer, as a human. And it just feels like those things are like a part of a puzzle that God has planned to make you into the person or the cricketer he wants you to be and to take you to another level. So I would say that sometimes failures are good because it helps you a lot more than winning. Haroge nahi toh [if you don't lose] how will you know what it feels like to win? How would you have that hunger to win, and stuff like that? So for me it's been a major part, especially that drop from the [2022] ODI World Cup.

For me, that was one of the biggest lows of my life, I would say. I [had never been] dropped from any team I was a part of. This was the first time it was happening. I didn't know how to take it, what to do. I used to just cry in my room, just put a pillow over my head and start crying, because I didn't know how to [deal with it]. And that was almost every night. I had two months before the domestic season started. It was really hard for me.

Play 03:30

Jemimah Rodrigues: "Talking to Kohli helped with the mental aspect of my game"

But those two months actually pushed me out of my comfort zone, caused me to try things that maybe if I wasn't dropped I would have never tried. In those two months I worked with my dad, who was my coach, and Prashant Shetty sir, who is also my coach. And we had a plan that we would play two matches every week in that time. I used to go to Azad Maidan and play. There were times I played with U-14 MIG Club boys, and I was under so much pressure. I didn't feel the pressure of international cricket as much as I felt when I was playing with U-14 boys, because firstly, everyone knew over there that I am an India player. In Mumbai, if you are an India player or a Mumbai player, people really look up to you. When I played there, all the parents used to come to watch. It was so much pressure - if I got out to a kid, how would it feel? How would it look? But I think that was also something that helped me deal with pressure a lot more, to shut out what's happening outside and just focus on what I needed to do.

In Azad Maidan in the morning, the conditions were so bad that you can put your finger in the pitch and it will go in. It's that soggy because of the dew. Nobody covers the pitch there. Second innings, completely opposite, drastic turn. I remember the first match I played, there were Mumbai U-16 boys who had already played for Mumbai, now they were U-19, good left-arm bowlers and they were just turning it square. And our team was 0 for 3. (laughs). I got 45 runs in some 45 balls. That knock gave me so much confidence in challenging conditions when the team was in that state. To come out there and to score, that gave me a lot of confidence.

I hardly played on paata [flat] pitches. That was one thing that helped, because in international cricket we get a lot better pitches than this. Once you bat here and you go and bat in international cricket, even the challenging pitches feel like jannat [heaven] there. Those two months just changed me completely as a person, as a player. And I can say that I got a lot stronger, a lot more mature, like, I understood my game better. I understood what works for me, what doesn't. And I think to get that understanding really helped me be calmer under pressure and also helped me be consistent whenever I play.

In the last 12 months you've lost a few finals - WPL, WCPL and WBBL. One has to learn to live through those mostly alone because you go back home after a final and you're not with your team. How do you deal with it?

Definitely for me, it has been [having] people around me. I need to let it out. I can't keep it inside me. Then it becomes bad, very bad, for me. But I also realise with things like especially World Cup finals, it's like slow poison. It slowly eats you up. And you don't even realise when it does. You go back home, everything is fine, and then suddenly, little by little, it's affecting you. For me, my coping mechanism is also to give myself some time to feel what I'm feeling. Because at the end, they are real feelings. We lost, I'm devastated. I am feeling that. I can't just push it aside and go fake it.

No, I need to let it process. And once that happens, I'm able to be myself again. I think for me, that time given to myself is very important and I need to feel my emotions. I'm a very emotional person. I need to feel everything. Happiness, sadness. I need to let myself feel it.

To deal with such losses and other issues, the Indian team has brought a sports psychologist, Mugdha Bavare, on board at times. How did that change things - for you or other players?

When you're playing sport at such a high level, the pressure is immense. Many can't understand what we go through. And sometimes we ourselves don't understand why we feel the way we feel. Or how to cope with failures. But it's so nice that we get professional help where we can talk these things out.

Rodrigues on her enthusiasm for fielding: "There will be days where maybe with a bat I would have not contributed, but I know I can still contribute to the team. And I think that eagerness and that mindset helps me be more hungry to save runs or take catches" © BCCI

And not just that, it's like you can train your mind also. If you can retrain your mind to think in the right direction, maybe that will change your performance, the way you are, [bring about] the outcomes you desire also. So I think it is very important. And I would say that everyone goes through stuff, just that nobody shows it. If I go to the gym and I train my muscles to prepare, I can also train my mind to be prepared for whatever pressure is going to come.

You have captained at the U-19 level and in domestic cricket, and you've been the vice-captain of Delhi Capitals in the WPL. Is the India captaincy something you consciously think about?

To be honest, I love captaincy. I love the leadership role in general. And I always feel that even in domestic and all, whenever that role has been given to me, I've done a lot better as a captain than as a player. So I really, really enjoy it. I'm looking forward to the opportunity whenever I get it. Honestly, I don't sit and think, "Oh, one day I'll be captain." The dream is there, yes, but I'm just too busy doing what I need to do to help me score and perform on the team and to contribute to the team's winning.

How was the vice-captain experience at the WPL? Because it can often happen that the captain has gone off for some treatment or might not be available for one match. Although I don't think that has happened with Meg Lanning at Delhi Capitals. But you have to be prepared for that. Three years of vice-captaincy under her - how has that been for you?

I think it's such a blessing to have Meg as our captain - one of the greatest leaders and captains the cricketing world could have. I have picked her brain a lot on how, when she was put in charge, she dealt with seniors, how she got that balance right, because sometimes when you're young and there are people who are so experienced playing under you, they can take it the wrong way. She said, "Honestly, their experience I actually needed it at that time and it helped me. But also to strike that balance, how to make sure that I take their advice and I make them feel involved in what I'm doing. But at the same time, if there was something, they were very kind enough to listen to it also, and make sure you work towards the team goal."

I asked her also: how are you so calm under pressure? I always see you have a poker face. She's like, "Jemi, if you just knew what was happening inside…" (laughs) She was like, "No, I get nervous too, but it's just that I know as a leader, if I start reacting or lose my calmness, I know it's going to affect the team, and everyone's looking up to me. So I make it a conscious effort to have that poker face or stay calm under pressure, because I know if I do that, my team can do that." The thing I love about Meg is actually how she's calm but very aggressive in her thinking.

What are some things you've picked up playing T20 cricket around the world? Maybe while training with players from other countries or while chatting with some of them in the dressing room? Not necessarily about the game, but maybe about mindset or approach?

Like you said, I've had the opportunity to share so many dressing rooms with different players and different leaders and different legends. I think Jess Jonassen is someone I really get along well with. And she has a great cricketing brain too. The way she goes about the game, the way she plans, the way she understands the game. She also leads the WBBL team [Brisbane Heat], I'm a part of her team. And I think wherever I go, it's like the trio is going - Shikha Pandey, Jess Jonassen and I. [The three are also team-mates at Delhi Capitals and Trinbago Knight Riders.] But just picking her brain, I've asked her a lot, because she's also a very experienced captain. I've asked her a lot about captaincy.

One thing I really loved about her - we were playing in the CPL and a net session was on, and Jess suddenly runs up to this young left-arm bowler and she's helping her out. Imagine being that youngster. I would be shy maybe to go to a Jess Jonassen, who's a legend. But she herself coming there just breaks the ice. And this cricketer starts asking her questions, "Okay, what can I do better?" and starts working on her game. Then I remember in one of the games, she [the young bowler] didn't bowl well. The team meeting got over and Jess sat with her and discussed field placements and what length balls to bowl. She didn't have to do that but she did it. And I think that was such a big learning for me - one thing is how to help with field placements and all, but just being a good team-mate and a human also. Like, for Jess it would have been a small thing, but for that girl it's such a massive thing.

Everyone knows about your friendship with Smriti Mandhana. How do such friendships help you on the field, when you're batting together or fielding together, or maybe going through a tough period during a tournament? How does this chemistry translate into performances?

Smriti has been a proper elder sister to me. We have a bond and I thank cricket for that. If it was not cricket, maybe I wouldn't have such a beautiful relationship with Smriti.

More than anything it has helped me when things don't go your way. Because firstly, you're away from home, it can get lonely out there. Just to have someone you can trust and someone who knows, who generally cares about you doing well. And not just about you doing well, but you firstly as a human. I think that gives a lot of comfort. A lot of times I have just gone and ranted it all out to her. I have cried on her shoulder and stuff. Somewhere we all need that one person who can be there for us. And I am blessed that I have that with Smriti.

And at the same time, she has helped me a lot in my cricketing journey in a lot of things. She understands as a batter what another batter can face. She has helped me get through tough situations. Especially when things don't go your way and it feels like there is already so much criticism, so many things against you, just to have that person you can always fall back on and trust that whatever they are going to say is going to be for your good… Sometimes it might be a little straightforward also, like, "You shouldn't do this. That's wrong." And you know it's coming out of a good place. It's going to help you a lot.

I am just blessed that I have Smriti and I also have Arundhati [Reddy]. I think Aru has also been a very important person to me who has helped me in my cricketing journey. Even with her, it's kind of the same thing. Just to emotionally have that attachment and just rant it all out, get advice back. It helps me a lot.

[During the 2024 WPL, after three low scores in a row] I had a conversation with Arundhati, and here I will be absolutely honest and I will tell you why - because I am not proud of it but I will be honest because I know someone else watching might be able to relate and can get some help out of this. So I was under a lot of pressure before the next game and she was like, "Are you okay?" And I was like, "Not really, I am taking a lot of pressure." So she asked me why. I said, "Whichever team I have been a part of, I have always stood out and I want to stand out here also. I also want to play. I also want people clapping for me and getting that kind of limelight." Again, I was not proud of it but I was honest. So she said, "But Jemi, why do we play for this team? We play so that the team wins. And at the end, that is the most important thing. Even if you have to step back and maybe let someone else go out there and take it on, you do it because at the end, the Delhi Capitals team is going to win and that's important."

And that really hit me because just to get that honest feedback really changed my mindset, and that is helping me till today. That at the end I am not playing so that Jemimah Rodrigues scores a fifty. I am playing so that even if my contribution is 15 runs but the team wins, that is more important for me. So the next game I went in and I was absolutely okay to take a step back and just play my role, whatever role the team had given me, and let someone else hit those sixes and fours. But the moment I realised that and I humbled myself, God lifted me up in that game and I scored a 33-ball 69 not out. I also didn't know how that happened but it did happen. Yeah, I remember the next day I had a conversation with one of the coaches, and she was like, "There is a lot more pressure on you to prove it in the next game." I said, "I am not here to prove that I can do this again. I am just here to make sure whatever role the team has given me, I am going to stick to that and play." And she was like, "That is very good thinking."

Play 01:37

"My relationship with Smriti has helped me most when things don't go my way"

Your role must also have changed in the Indian dressing room. You were once the baby of the team, and now, despite still being young, you are among the more experienced members in the team, with younger players around, who must be seeking your advice. How has this transition shaped you over the years?

With the Indian team, I didn't realise when that role shifted because it happened so subtly. But also, my role in this team - yes, there is Smriti and Harman [Kaur] who are the captain, vice-captain, and a lot more senior players, but I know I have a quality to get the team together. And I genuinely take that role very seriously because I just know I can make people feel comfortable. Imagine a youngster walking in - I know I can walk up to them, talk to them, because maybe for them it's all new and it's hard to speak to some senior members. But I know by me going there, I can maybe break the ice and then they can be themselves. I do look out for people who are having an off day, having a bad day. Maybe sometimes just by being there and doing silly things to put a smile on their face. Or sometimes even leaving them a message and telling them: I believe in you no matter what. Because there have been people who have done that for me on my bad days and I know how much that one small message saying "I believe in you, you are going to win it for us" makes a huge impact on someone. So I like looking out for people like that in the team. Maybe it will work, it will not work. But I know if I can be that one on that day to do that for that person, be there for that person, I think that's what a good team-mate would do.

In the last two years you have also tasted Test cricket. You made your debut in your home town, if not on your home ground, and scored a half-century. What was that experience like? Male cricketers play a lot more red-ball games, Ranji Trophy, etc, but it's not the same in the women's set-up.

To be very honest, meri phatt rahi thi bahut. [I was scared out of my mind.] (laughs) I was really scared because I have played a lot of T20s, lot of ODIs, but [long-format] cricket, I think the last I had played was five years ago. That too in a domestic three-day tournament. So I had no idea what happens in a Test match. But then I called up my coach, Prashant sir, and he told me: "Maybe the colour of your clothes has changed, maybe the colour of the ball has changed, but a cover drive is still a cover drive. At the end, just go out there looking to score runs. That's it. Just because it's a Test, you don't have to leave every ball or play a more defensive way. If you feel like there is a gap, it's your shot, go for it."

That really helped me and then he told me to practise a few balls defending, like good, hard-length balls, new ball also, just defend it well, because he said that sometimes in a Test match to practise a good, solid defence gives you a lot of confidence because you know that good ball can't get you out. And then you can convert the loose balls. So he told me especially to practise a good, solid defence on that length and maybe a few soft-hand defences for spinners, and you will be fine.

So I said okay and I went in there but I was very nervous the night before and I told Smriti about it. She said, "It's okay, it's fine. You are human, that's why you are nervous. You care about it." So that also really helped me. And then my family had come, and on such an important day, maybe the most important debut for me, to play for India in whites, to have it in Mumbai, kind of on my home ground, where I played a lot of cricket, and my entire family being there and even Prashant sir, it was a very emotional moment and a very big feeling. And just to lift that bat up when I scored my debut fifty, it was special. And just to see my parents and all of them so happy, it was just so nice as a family to experience that kind of a victory, and just to see God's faithfulness every step of the way.

The male cricketers often talk about how much a Test cap means to them after going through the rigours of domestic red-ball cricket. Since there's no such system in women's cricket, is the Test format still the pinnacle for you or is it at par with the other formats?

I don't know about men's cricket a lot, but what I can say is that for us it's even more special because we don't play a lot of Test cricket. Just to know there is a Test match coming up and there is an opportunity to be a part of it, I think that excites me a lot more. And I look forward to playing a Test match. Honestly, I love Test cricket. I think that will be my favourite format because there is no pressure of strike rate, no run rate, the whole day you can bat, chill and bat, take your time. T20 and all these other games I had to develop. I was always more like a player who just likes to… I think I was made for Test cricket, I could say. Someone who loves to defend the ball, loves to play it according to merit, not think too much, just react and stuff.

Having played all formats and in so many leagues, is there a particular stroke that you think you still need to develop or work on more?

I think the pull shot was one thing. But now I am seeing it coming off quite frequently. It was one of those shots that I had to really work hard on, and now I can see it come off in matches, especially to good, genuine pace bowlers. Because everyone knows I am very good and solid off the front foot, and they started bowling that short of length onto the ribcage. So I had to develop the pull shot, which is not very natural to me, or just flick it off the body. I think that is one shot I will keep working on, I feel I still need to master it a lot more. Maybe practice even hitting it into the stands in the T20s. (laughs)

What do you tell yourself when you see one of the faster bowlers marking her run-up and you know she might bowl at your ribcage? What do you tell yourself to calm yourself down or to give yourself confidence?

My practice has given me a lot of confidence. I know in practice I am doing it, so when I walk in there, I don't have that doubt. You practise so that it comes naturally in the match. You do a lot of repetitions so that it becomes muscle memory, that when you walk in there, you don't have to think, "Oh, I have to play a pull shot." It just comes off.

And the other thing that used to happen initially, when I knew they were bowling short, I used to hold back on the back foot. And I realised I started getting late on the ball because my head was [falling] behind. But I realised that I was still expecting the ball to be full. A lot of times [I'm] waiting on the back foot, they bowl an overpitched ball and I miss it. And if I don't convert that ball, then they are going to keep bowling short. This also Prashant sir told me - always expect the ball to be in front [pitched up]. And when it comes behind, you automatically adjust because you have practised. So because I am expecting the ball to be [full], I think my head position is better. I am on top of the ball, so it is easier for me to pull it [when it is short].

One aspect of playing all year, including the T20 leagues, is how busy and packed the calendar has become. We now have a Future Tours Programme for women's cricket with windows for the WPL, the Hundred and the WBBL. Have you had to start thinking about picking and choosing certain series or tournaments so you get mental breaks and have time to recover and be with your family?

Yeah, in fact, I missed playing the Hundred this year for that reason, because there has been constant cricket throughout the year. If not international then domestic. And then I also play these other foreign leagues, which I enjoy a lot. And I think the Hundred is one of my favourite tournaments to play. But I just had to make a choice because, one, it was a lot of cricket, the body is tired, and mentally also I wouldn't be fresh. The second thing was, [there's] a 50-over World Cup coming up and I would rather use this time to practise in home conditions, where the matches are going to be played, and work a lot more on my 50-over game. There were a couple of teams very keen on getting me and it was a hard choice [to turn them down].

About playing in England, you said in one interview that you were in the Kia Super League when you were 18. You were living alone there, you had to do everything on your own - manage your finances, laundry, everything. Did that experience teach you something about yourself?

Yeah, it did. I was 18 years old, playing in the Kia Super League for the first time. Very excited. And I remember Smriti telling me that it might get lonely out there because she had experienced it. I was like, "No, no, I talk to people. I am very social. I will be fine." I went there and my team was very warm, very welcoming. They did check on me at practice and stuff. But you practise for two hours and the rest of the day you are all to yourself. And what to do? Sometimes UK can get a little depressing. I don't know why, whether it's the weather or the gloominess you feel there. So I remember, the first two-three days were fine but after that I started missing home so badly. I used to cry every night.

And then, like you said, the other thing is how in India I feel we are spoiled, everything is done for us. Whether it's the laundry, whether it's cooking food, or whatever it is. But over there it was a whole new experience. Even finances, because at that time we were not earning as much. So every bit of that money had to be calculated - okay, how much I am spending on food? If I have to travel, I would rather walk to a place than maybe book a cab. So a lot of things made me more independent and changed me a lot, even mentally, and being a lot stronger, because after coming back from there, it felt like I have seen so much, now these other things just felt a little smaller than [they] used to be before.

And one more thing. I realised that till then I could never [be] alone. [Earlier] I always wanted someone to be there - to yap or something like that. But after that experience and even the Big Bash, I started enjoying my company a lot more. So now even if I am alone, I know I'll be fine. I don't need someone to be there constantly around me. And in fact, now there are times in the day where I want one or two hours alone just to myself, not even do much, just sit down, maybe listen to music, just be with myself.

Rodrigues (third from left) in a team huddle during last year's T20 World Cup. "I know I have a quality to get the team together," she says. "And I genuinely take that role very seriously because I just know I can make people feel comfortable" © Getty Images

In 2021 when you were going through a slump, you went there to play for Northern Superchargers in the Hundred. You were opening the batting in the first game, and you scored 92 not out.

Yeah, I think just before that I had a very tough series in England. I was not part of the Test team. I had not made my debut yet anyway. But then the ODIs came and I didn't play the first match, got an opportunity in the second and third, and I was like, "Now I'm going to go prove myself, do this, do that." Failed in both games. T20s came, I sat out all the games because I was not in form, not scoring. And I thought, "Gone, end of career." (laughs)

But [then] the Hundred came up. I remember the night before the first game, I was under so much pressure because I was very low on confidence. And I remember waking up because of a bad dream in the middle of the night. I was so anxious. I dreamed that I'm dropped from the team. And then somehow I just tried to sleep. I didn't sleep well at all. Next day, the match is in the evening, maybe three o'clock in the afternoon. And I remember I couldn't eat well because I was so nervous, I was so anxious. I thought "I need to eat something", so I just stuffed some cereal in my mouth.

I went to play the match. We were fielding [first] so I could calm down a little. Went in to bat, we were [7 for 3]. I'm just seeing wickets falling, falling, falling. This is the worst situation to be in when you're not in form. But I think that knock was really special for me. There's this win percentage [prediction] that [they display] in the Hundred, and Northern Superchargers was 4% and Welsh Fire was 96% (laughs). And from there, Alice Davidson-Richards and I, we stitched a partnership. And I think I got 93 not out in 42 balls [92 off 43]. And out of nowhere, we chased down that target with 15 balls to spare. I would rate that innings as one of my topmost innings just because of everything I went through and how that match turned out to be. So that was special, yeah.

England has been special, actually. I love playing in England.

You seem like a person who remembers a lot of numbers. Do you consider yourself to be a cricket nerd? Do you look at data before games, especially when you're the vice-captain? Or do you go by your gut feeling?

I know about my scores, I do remember those things. But I am not someone who will go and see my stats constantly, want to know my strike rate. Like you said, I'm more of a gut-feeling person. When it's about myself, I don't like to see my stats. I don't like to see what are the areas I'm not good at. Because I know, I've played enough cricket, I know what areas they target. I'd rather focus on what I need to do, because numbers I feel can get stuck in your head, and then I'm more focused on that than the end goal of making my team win. So I'd rather just follow my gut and do what my instinct says and make sure my team wins than worry too much about the stats, because that takes care of itself.

If it's coming to me being the captain and planning, I like that information. I like to know that this particular batter, their strike rate is lower against this bowler, and their match-ups are better with a left-arm bowler than an offspinner. I think stats do help you. But like you said, you have to strike a balance.

Strum when you're winning: Rodrigues brings out her guitar celebration after her hundred against South Africa in the tri-series in Sri Lanka last May Sameera Peiris / © Getty Images

The days you are not playing much, do you watch a lot of cricket? Do you listen to commentary carefully, to people like Nasser Hussain, who you have commentated with on Sky Sports?

It depends again. Like, there are days I would love to watch a lot of cricket. I love watching, especially Test matches. But there are days when mentally you are cooked and you can't take anymore. There is a rule for me that when I come back home I don't want to talk about cricket at all.

But I love watching, especially like Nasser Hussain and the experts. There are some things you don't realise till they pinpoint it. And they go into the absolute detail of it, which helps me.

Long back, I had heard Sunil Gavaskar sir, when they were asking him: what do you do when you are off form? He said, "For a batter, it's all about spending time there. Sometimes it's just about being there and the ball hitting the middle of the bat. That one ball can give you a lot of confidence." So that really helped me at that time. I do believe that the more you watch, the more you learn. And there's so much to learn from, especially the IPL, with the way cricket is going and the kind of shots [they play].

For example, the scoop. It seems like your kind of shot, because you like to stay low, especially on subcontinental pitches. Correct. Like Surya [Suryakumar Yadav], also.

Did you pick it up off TV and try it? Or did it come from thinking of extending your scoring areas to behind the wicket as well?

It was both ways. A few things I just saw - like I said, Surya. I don't think I practised it, but in one match there was a free hit and I said, "Let me try, because the field is up." I went there [to the off side] and I actually hit it and it travelled. So I thought, why not add these things to [my] game? My dad and Prashant Shetty sir, they have never stopped me from playing this. I'm a very conventional cricketer, if you go to see by my technique. But they've asked me to feel free to explore. Play the sweep shot, play the reverse sweep. They said why not, because it's going to be so difficult for a bowler to bowl to you if you just move across here [to the off side]. Or then move here [to leg], or walk out to the bowler. Or maybe just suddenly reverse-paddle. Now I've started playing that scoop over the keeper's head, where you can't keep a fielder.

But also, even if I have to play the scoop, there's a lot of thought behind which ball I play it. I just don't randomly go and play it. It's like, if there's a quick bowler and they are bowling that length, I'll think, "Okay, she's the right one to do it [to]," and then I'll do it. But if she bowls a slower one, what's my option? Because sometimes slower ones can get caught [at short fine leg]. How can I adjust at the last minute? So I have both options in my mind there. If it's a quick ball, it's a scoop. If it's a slower one, I'll try to maybe pull it or something like that. I just don't go and play a shot.

That example you gave about trying it first in a match on a free hit - you never practised it before? Do you remember what match it was where you tried it?

It was a domestic game. Mumbai was playing, I think, Odisha. It was a practice [game] and it gave me a lot of confidence. This was after my Test debut. I had a very good [patch] there. I scored in the first match [ODI against Australia, late 2023], scored in the second match, and then next innings 20 not out. This was when Prashant sir called me one day and he's like, "I know you're in a good phase and it would be very easy for me to say, 'Everything's going well, keep doing what you're doing.'" But he's like, "No, now I feel honestly you're batting to 60% of your potential. You can get so much better. How can we add more to your game?"

Hometown heroine: Rodrigues captures a moment during her debut Test, in Navi Mumbai, where she made a fifty in her first innings © Getty Images

So that's when he told me that one thing [he] thought of was to walk out to a pace bowler [to disturb their length]. And there are some bowlers who are very picky with their length. If someone [walks out] they hate it. They absolutely hate it. I said, okay, let's try it. He was coaching the Goa Ranji team at that time. I had gone to Goa to work with him for a few days. So I tried it there. The pitches were not great to try that particular shot there, but I got the gist of what I needed to do. From there I went directly to play the one-day zonals. He told me to try it in the zonals. I think I was playing one of our Indian pace bowlers and I walked out. And before that, she was bowling good lengths. The moment I walked out, she bowled down leg and I hit it, kind of swept it for four. It disrupted her length absolutely. And I went and spoke to her also [after the match]. I asked her, "What did you feel when I walked out?" She was like, "Honestly, I didn't like it because I like to bowl at that one particular length." Then I tried it in the WPL also, walking out.

Your coach said you were at 60% back then. Where do you think you are now?

(Laughs) No, no, immediately after that WPL it went really well for me and he said, "Okay, you've reached 80%." I still feel like I'm in the 80 to 85 phase now. There's still a lot more I can do better and it will come, it will come soon. And he keeps telling me that every player has their peak. That peak phase is around when you're 25 to 30, that age group, because that's when you've matured a lot more, you've played so much cricket and you grow as a person too. So you know your game a lot better.

One of the things the team relies on you for is how you score in chases, like you did against Pakistan in the 2023 World Cup. Some players break a chase down, take it over by over, or phase by phase. How do you go about it?

For me, I like to break it down. Not over by over, maybe five-over segments. I am very calculating in what I do. Like, even if I am batting at No. 5, sometimes [thinking about] my own batting comes a lot later. I am seeing which fielder is doing what and what is the run rate and how much we need. So then I will break it down from there. I think the most important thing about chases, and one of my mentors, Hrishikesh Kanitkar sir, told me this when I was speaking to him recently about how to chase. He said, you need to know in the last ten or last five overs what run rate you will be able to achieve. So how much to take it deep, but also be so calculative that in the last five, I can [even get] 50 at times if the situation demands, or if I want to get it down to 30 off 30 balls, [do that]. So once I have that, then I can plan, I can then break it down to get to that target.

The second thing about me is that when I practise, I put myself in such situations. Like, if we are 30 for 3 in the powerplay, how do I take it from there? So I still need to be positive, but maybe [play] hard grounded shots because it's lesser risk. Build, build, build, and then accelerate in the last five.

The other thing is we have our sidearm bhaiyyas, that's Kranti and Sachin bhaiyya, with our team. So I try to make it as challenging as possible and I give myself targets [when batting against sidearm throws]. I am very good when I set a target in front of me. I can't play without any target, but if I have a target, I am able to achieve it. So sometimes I give [myself tough targets] like six balls 12 runs, or six balls 16 runs. And I tell them: don't let me score. There are days I get [the targets]. There are days I don't get it but I come close. So not 16, but I got 13 or 14 runs. Putting myself in those situations in practice and making it challenging there gives me a lot more clarity when I walk in. So yesterday if I scored 16 off six, I know if the target is 16 off the last over, I can get it because I have done it before.

As a No. 5, you have to hit a lot of boundaries. But six-hitting is not just about muscle and brute force. When you got this position, what were your strengths you thought you needed to capitalise on?

My own strength was manipulation of field. I am blessed that I am very agile, which helps me move well along the crease. But at the same time I think the credit goes to my dad because we worked a lot on hitting over covers and also the sweep shot. In women's cricket only four players can be outside on the boundary line. There is one gap that is always open: either it will be square leg or cover or the mid-off fielder will be up. So he made sure I worked on that game a lot. So if they have square leg up, I know I can sweep any ball there. And if they have covers up, they are going to kind of bowl at my heel, where I am cramped for room, and I know I can move and go inside-out also. That is one thing that we really worked on in my game because my dad also knew that I didn't have that much power to clear a six, but I can smartly get my runs.

Rodrigues bats with "proper elder sister" Smriti Mandhana in the Asian Games final in Hangzhou two years ago © AFP/Getty Images

The other thing - I worked a lot on my mindset. There have been games when I batted with that intent and it has come off. So I knew I had it, but I knew I had to get more consistent at this role. So just practising with that mindset and being okay to fail but knowing I am on the right path really helped me.

So even this Big Bash I had recently, where I took the bowlers on, I think being a part of the Brisbane Heat team really helped me because they play aggressive cricket. Nobody actually told me you have to come and play [aggressive], but just being in that environment made me feel that this is the brand of cricket the team plays and I want to do it. And that really helped me. But what really changed there was, one, the guts to take it on, but also the heart to back myself when I fail.

Because when you are taking it on or batting with a positive approach, you are going to take a lot of risks. With risk what happens is, sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn't. Just because it doesn't work, I shouldn't step back and say, "Oh, too bad, it's not working." No, I need to have the heart to come back and do it again because I know if it works, the bowler is gone. Sometimes, just knowing that a batter is going to come after you, they sense body language, they sense that intent. So even on those days when I failed, my team helped me [be in] that mindset and backed me. So I started backing myself too. And on the days I failed, I thought, "I failed today, but I know the moment I master this kind of mindset and taking the game on, it's going to put the bowlers under a lot of pressure."

You've spent a lot of time with Jhulan Goswami, both in the Indian dressing room and for Trinbago Knight Riders. What have you learned from her?

Firstly, about Jhulu di, I just admire her a lot for her work ethic and her preparation. I still remember I had fractured my hand before her last series and the ODI team had come to Bangalore for a few days of training and they were going to fly to UK to play. I still remember, I think she bowled around 12 overs, just spot bowling. The legend she is, and for how many hours of practice or whatever she has done - she doesn't have to do it, but her work ethic was the same even [going into] her retirement series. I really look up to her and I think she set, even Mithu di [Mithali Raj] for that matter, when it came to work ethic, both of them have set the right examples for us to follow.

Jhulu di is one of those seniors who has this quality to even gel with youngsters. When I debuted, I walked into the nets. Her run-up is long, but she walked all the way from there, came to me and she said, "I've followed you in domestic, you've done really well, keep going." And that meant the world to me at that time because I was so nervous - my first net session for India. And my first innings for India also, I remember, it was against South Africa and I got, I think, some 36 or something. I got out, I walked back, Jhulu di was sitting there in the dugout and she was like, "This was a very special innings. You are going to play many more for India like this." I think that's when that bond actually began.

To face her in the nets was the most difficult. I think she is the most difficult bowler I have faced in the nets, 100%. Me and Harleen keep talking about it: if you just middle one ball of Jhulu di, it gives you a lot of confidence. Then we don't care about whether we got beaten, we got bowled, we opened up, nothing - we didn't care about all these things.

Vishal Dikshit is an assistant editor at ESPNcricinfo

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