Jemimah Rodrigues

A classy top-order batsman from the Mumbai school of batsmanship, Jemima Rodrigues is arguably the finest next-generation talent in the Indian women's team at present. The amount of time that she has at her disposal to play shots and the effortless power-hitting skills in particular make her special. She made her international debut in 2018 across ODIs and T20Is, and quite steadily has become the second most reliable batsman in the shortest format after Smriti Mandhana. Her 50-over game is still a work-in-progress in comparison but there is no doubt that Jemima will master it sooner than later. Like a few others of the new generation of players, she is also a fine fielder who is comfortable anywhere on the park.

Born into a sports family, Jemima's father was a junior coach in cricket at her own school. From a very young age, she showed a penchant for the game and played actively in her courtyard with her twin brothers. Jemima was gifted not only in cricket but also in hockey where she represented Maharashtra in the U17 category. She was often mentioned that her hockey skills have helped a bit in her power-hitting when it comes to cricket, the bottom hand allowing her to generate maximum force while trying the big hits. Jemima was only 13 when she made it to the U19 Maharashtra cricket team and it's been racy progress since then. With age, she should only get better and wiser, thereby becoming a more polished cricketer.

By Hariprasad Sadanandan