India batter Jemimah Rodrigues said the team is more motivated than ever to add another global title to its growing collection, insisting the hunger within the squad has only intensified after last year’s maiden ODI World Cup triumph.
Speaking ahead of India’s preparations for the Women’s T20 World Cup in England, Jemimah said winning one major ICC title has only sharpened the group’s appetite for more.
“I think it’s a bit of a motivation now. Since we won one, we want to win two,” Jemimah said as quoted by PTI.
“After winning a World Cup you can get complacent but this team is even more hungrier to win it again and again and again. That’s the plan and that is the entire motive,” she added.
India will begin their preparations with a training camp at the BCCI Centre of Excellence in Bengaluru from May 10 to 16 before departing for England, where they will play a three-match T20I series against the hosts in the lead-up to the T20 World Cup. The tour will also include a one-off Test after the ICC event.
Jemimah, who led Delhi Capitals to a fourth Women’s Premier League final this season, also backed uncapped seamer Nandini Sharma to make the most of her maiden India call-up.
Nandini, who was named in India’s 15-member squad alongside Bharti Fulmali, impressed in the WPL with her consistency and ability to deliver under pressure, and Jemimah said the young right-arm seamer had already shown she belonged on the big stage.
“Nandini has been a great player for us throughout the WPL. To be honest when we got her, we didn’t know what to expect; we knew she had the talent,” Jemimah said.
“When she came on to the bigger stage of WPL in front of the world, the way she delivered, not just that five-wicket haul, in every single game she was consistent.”
Jemimah added that India’s experienced core would help Nandini settle quickly into the national set-up.
“I know this team, it is going to welcome her, prepare her well and there is a lot of experience in this team and that is going to get the best out of her,” she said.
Head coach Amol Muzumdar echoed that confidence and said India’s preparations were firmly on course. Muzumdar stressed that pre-tour camps had long been central to the team’s planning and said the squad was ready for the demands of an English summer.
“It has always been an integral part of this team. We believe in preparing well for every challenge that is in front of us,” Muzumdar said.
He also pointed to India’s historic T20I series win in England last year as a major confidence boost, saying the team had both the experience and belief to mount another strong World Cup challenge.
– Ends
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