The most shocking thing in Indian women's cricket this year was the omission of Jemimah from the World Cup 2022 squad. Jemimah Rodrigues is a popular name in the international cricket circuit. The Indian has amassed runs not just in international cricket, but also in the franchise leagues all across the globe including the English Premier League, The Hundred and Women's Big Bash League. She was in sublime form in the WBBL 2022. This is why everyone expected her to be in the squad. But the board had different plans. With the team going ahead to play the series against Kiwis, a player of high calibre omitted from the team would have dropped their confidence. But not something of this sort happens, if you are Jemi.
Courtesy: a Twitter account of Female Cricket Stars
The amazing cricketer shocked everyone when she put the bat on for a while and grabbed a hockey stick in her hands. And to everyone's surprise, her wrists work equally good with a hockey stick, just like they do with a cricket bat. The batter India heavily depended on, scored 3 goals in the first match playing for Uncle's Kitchen United in the Willingdon Catholic Gymkhana Rink Tournament. Her amazing performance in hockey might be new to many, but few know that she did represent Maharashtra for hockey in U-16. It is amazing to see someone extremely good in two sports.
But Jemimah is not the only player to do so. As they say, women are better at multitasking, many players have done it earlier too. Aussie skipper Meg Lanning has played hockey at the national level playing for Victoria. The Aussie wicketkeeper and swashbuckling opener Alyssa Healy also played hockey for Victoria. Her dream was to play hockey for Australia in Olympics, but she took the right decision by choosing cricket eventually.
While the above examples are of the women who have played one sport internationally, and others at different levels, there are also examples of sportswomen who have represented their country in two or more sports. One of the finest batters in the world Suzie Bates has represented the Kiwi Basketball team in Beijing 2008 Olympics. Another Kiwi player Sophie Devine played for the Kiwi hockey team along with representing Blackcaps, and all of this she did overcoming the type 1 diabetes she had. Another cricketer who represented their team in hockey as well is Janette Brittin, who did it 3 decades earlier now.
Speaking about the most popular sport, cricket makes way only after football. To the surprise of many, some players have represented their countries in the two most popular sports. Ellyse Perry is a name known to every person who watches cricket. One of the best all-rounders to ever play women's cricket, she is a popular sports star of the game. The heartthrob of cricket fans is the only player to have represented her country in FIFA and ICC cricket World cups. Apart from Perry, the fast bowling sensation from Pakistan, Diana Baig has represented Pakistan for football and cricket, and she continues to do so even today.
If one speaks of the hard hitters of the game, Deandra Dottin is a name that comes to everyone's mind. The hard hitter is knowing from scoring huge hundreds, and hitting long sixes. Little does everyone know, that the batter has represented Barbados in a flurry track field and athletic events. Overall she has 9 medals representing Barbados in U-20, 7 of which are gold. In Caribbean championships, she has won medals in Shotput, Javelin throw and Discuss Throw too. No wonder she launches the ball long back in the stands.
When it's difficult to excel in one sport, these women and many others have made their presence felt in more than one sport, eventually turning to the best sport cricket. Now they are happily contributing to their team in cricket with either their performance or as Making their mark as a skipper. Jemimah might be playing hockey for fun again, but her resurrection will be a tale to tell for people. Breaking the stereotypes, these women have turned out to be an inspiration. And in the process, they never know the number of people they would inspire while following their passion. If true, we should not be surprised to see many sports stars coming in the future playing multiple sports.
Authored By:- Ashwin Jangam ( Cricket Analyst, Host and Entertainer)
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