New Delhi, Dec 21 (IANS) India batter Jemimah Rodrigues believes the Women’s World Cup triumph has brought greater responsibility for the team as they gear up for the five-match T20I series against Sri Lanka, starting Sunday. The series marks India’s first international assignment since lifting the World Cup last month.

Reflecting on the aftermath of the title win, Jemimah said the tournament’s impact has already been felt beyond the field. “It’s been a while since, you know. Life has definitely changed after the World Cup. A lot many people have been recognising women’s cricket, and I think that is one of the biggest achievements that this World Cup has had,” she said in a video shared by the BCCI.

Jemimah echoed the sentiments earlier expressed by vice captain Smriti Mandhana, underlining the long-term significance of the victory. “I was just hearing Smriti’s interview after the World Cup, what she had given, and she said that we will not realise it now, but the kind of impact this World Cup is going to have is going to impact the generations. And it’s going to be big, it’s going to be massive, so can’t wait to see that. And yeah, at the same time, you know, now what has happened has happened.”

While the team takes pride in its achievement, Jemimah stressed that the focus has already shifted to future challenges. “Yes, we take pride in what we’ve done as a team, but it’s just the beginning. Now is the time when I think the responsibility is more because the expectations are going to be more, and at the same time, the T20 World Cup, that’s our focus now. Yes, it’s about winning World Cups, but it’s also how we can be the best Indian team we’ve ever been.”

The 25-year-old highlighted the need for continuous improvement, especially with the shorter format demanding higher intensity. “And when we think of it that way, I think that hard work never stops. You improving never stops. You keep improving every single day, little by little by little.”

Jemimah added that complacency would be the biggest enemy following success. “So I think it’s a greater responsibility for us, and we know what we’ve done, but we also know that we can’t stop them. We need to keep going. T20, I feel, compared to the ODIs, the intensity is much higher.”

She also spoke about the tactical demands of T20 cricket, particularly for bowlers. “It’s a shorter format and we know that it has a lot of explosiveness to it. And I think that even as a team, we are working towards. T20, we know, even for bowlers, the batter is going to come hard at least but if we can nail those yorkers, nail those wide yorkers, the slow ones, I think it’s also going to be a game of smartness and preparation where we can go out and execute what we do.”

Looking ahead, Jemimah described the Sri Lanka series as a crucial step in India’s build-up to the T20 World Cup, set to be played in England from June 2026. “This Sri Lanka series that we’re having is, yeah, the first I could say the first tournament for us as a team, also to prepare for that and to work towards that. It’s going to be a good challenge with the dew coming in under lights. I think it’s going to be good preparation for us for the 2026 World Cup.”

India will take on Sri Lanka in the first of the five T20Is at the ACA-VDCA Cricket Stadium in Visakhapatnam.

–IANS

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