Jemimah Rodrigues has opened up about the overwhelming wave of calls, messages and social-media attention she received after her match-winning knock in the World Cup semi-final
Jemimah Rodrigues has opened up about the overwhelming wave of calls, messages and social-media attention she received after her match-winning knock in the Women’s World Cup semi-final and how it pushed her to uninstall WhatsApp just days before the final. The India batter said she was flooded with nearly a thousand messages from unknown numbers, leaving her unable to focus. With emotions already running high from the dramatic semi-final, Jemimah decided to disconnect completely to prepare for the biggest match of her career.
Recalling the chaotic night, Jemimah said her phone “kept buzzing and buzzing” after the semi-final, with congratulatory calls coming from every direction. “I don’t know how random people started getting my number. I’m not even over-exaggerating, but I had 1000 WhatsApp messages. I couldn’t take it because firstly, a lot had happened in that game. A lot of my emotions itself were there. I’m preparing for a final and the tournament is not over. Yes, I played a knock. Yes, we won. Yes, India was in the final. But, we still had a World Cup final to win,” Jemimah told Cricbuzz.
Realising the distraction was too much, she uninstalled WhatsApp altogether. Before doing so, she informed only “4-5 close ones” to call or message her normally if needed. “Even if I was not reading the message, it was just buzzing. And I just knew that people were messaging me and I just wanted to prepare for the finals. So, till the finals, I didn’t install WhatsApp.” she said. Jemimah stayed off social media too, except for a single post-match update, and remained disconnected until after the World Cup final.