The hero of the ICC Women’s ODI World Cup 2025 semifinal against Australia, Jemimah Rodrigues, is yet to shine in the ongoing ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 on England soil. Jemimah has registered scores of 1, 9 and 12 against Pakistan, Netherlands and South Africa respectively. But, when asked in the post-match press conference about her form, head coach Amol Muzumdar said that they aren’t concerned about it. Muzumdar labelled her as a ‘clutch player’, backing the batter to perform in the upcoming games.
"You have thrown the stats just now on me, but nothing of concern as far as I'm concerned," Muzumdar said.
"Jemi is a clutch player for us. We know for a fact that if she comes good, she'll win us a game. The scores haven't reflected the talent that she has, but I'm sure, in the coming days, she'll come along."
Against South Africa at Emirates Old Trafford, Manchester, Jemimah managed to score just 12 runs from 14 balls. She walked out to bat at no.4 in the sixth after both openers — Smriti Mandhana and Shafali Verma — returned to the dugout.
In the eighth over, Yastika Bhatia lost her wicket as well. Jemimah and Harmanpreet Kaur were expected to rebuild the innings and then accelerate. But, Jemimah couldn't find the gaps with ease. She managed to score just one boundary and played plenty of dot balls in her 14-ball 12. She got caught and bowled by Nadine de Klerk.
As Jemimah disappointed with the bat, India went for 54/1 to to 83/4. Harmanpreet couldn't convert the start as well and departed for a 22-ball 24. Deepti Sharma contributed with a handy 21-ball 29 cameo. Richa Ghosh couldn't finish well and was dismissed for a 14-ball 15 in the final over. India managed to post 158/7, not an above par score.
Before the T20 World Cup 2026, she had scored a half-century against England in Chelmsford. However, she hasn't had a consistent run. In the series against South Africa, she registered two double-digit scores.
In 2026, she has played 14 T20Is and scored 285 runs at an average of 21.92 and strike rate of 131.33 fifties. She has two T20I fifties this year.
Will India make changes to batting order?
For the Bangladesh game on June 25 at the same venue, Harmanpreet has an option to bench Yastika and bat Jemimah at no.3. Jemimah can use the powerplay overs well to find boundaries if a wicket falls early. With Yastika on the bench, Bharti Fulmali’s services can be used for power-hitting. However, it shouldn’t lead to delaying Richa Ghosh’s arrival to the crease. While Richa struggled against South Africa, she can do damage once settled as well.