Jemimah gears up for her first World Cup

MUMBAI: Teenage cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues is all geared up for the upcoming T20 World Cup in West Indies and says it’s all about mental preparation.

“Now I am preparing for the World Cup and I am preparing with the boys at the MIG (Club). It’s my first World Cup and it’s more of a mental preparation. I am also practising at the Bandra Kurla Complex with the senior women’s Mumbai team,” Jemimah said at the annual awards function organised by the Sports Journalists Association of Mumbai at the Cricket Club of India on Thursday.

The 18-year-old right-handed batswoman has been impressive in the series in Sri Lanka and is a regular in the Indian team.

Jemimah also recalled how her seniors, veteran Mithali Raj ,Jhulan Goswami and Harmanpreet

Kaur “gelled up” with her after she first entered the dressing room when she was

“nervous”.

The Indian Women’s team under their coach Ramesh Powar is expected to train in Mumbai before heading to the Caribbean.

The award winners: Rahul Aware (Sportsman of the year); Heena Sidhu and Tejaswini Sawant (Sportswomen of the year); Kisan Tadvi (Junior sportsman of the year); Durga Deore (Junior sportswoman of the year); Rishank Devadiga (Sportsman of the year, Indian Games); Prithvi Shaw (Cricketer of the year); Siddhesh Lad (Ranji Trophy Cricketer of the year); Jemimah Rodrigues (Woman cricketer of the year); Yashasvi Jaiswal (Junior cricketer of the year); Maharashtra Kabaddi team (Team of the year). School awards: Co-ed school: Jamnabai Narsee School, Bandra; Best boys school: Don Bosco High School,matunga, Best girls school: J B Petit High School, Fort.

Lifetime Achievement: SS Babu Narayan (football/basketball); Mary D’souza (athletics); Ramakant Achrekar (cricket), Murlikant Petkar (paralympics).