NEW DELHI: India's star batter Jemimah Rodrigues found herself at the centre of a major controversy last year after her father was accused of hosting religious gatherings at Khar Gymkhana, allegedly violating the club's regulations that prohibit political or religious events on its premises.
Jemimah was even stripped of her Gymkhana membership after the incident sparked widespread debate among fans and fellow cricketers.
Breaking her silence on the issue for the first time, Jemimah recalled how the false allegations had affected her family and clarified that everything they did was within the rules and regulations, insisting that her family had done nothing wrong.
"Sir, to be honest, I remember when that happened. It was one thing for me to face it, but when my parents were dragged into it for something we didn't do, it really hurt. Everything we did at that time was according to the rules and regulations - and we had proof of that. But the allegations made against me and my family really affected us deeply because we had done nothing wrong," Jemimah told India Today.
"That happened right after the World Cup in Dubai, where we hadn't done well. I personally hadn't performed to my expectations and was already feeling low. Then suddenly, I started seeing news, messages, and people saying terrible things about me - and worse, about my family and my church. That broke me. I remember my brother calling me, and I just started crying. I didn't know what to do. It felt like one blow after another - first my performance, and then false allegations about my family," Jemimah added.
The 25-year-old batter said her family chose faith and forgiveness over confrontation, staying silent and trusting God through the controversy - a decision she believes was later rewarded with India's World Cup triumph and her own redemption.
"But as a family, we sat together and said, this is not our battle to fight. We knew our intentions were right, and we knew we hadn't done anything wrong. God is our witness. So, we decided to stay silent, not to prove anything or fight back. We chose to forgive those who hurt us - because that's what Jesus taught us, to forgive even those who wrong us.
"And honestly, I've seen how God turned it all around. Exactly a year later came that semi-final knock and India winning the World Cup. Around the same time last year, we were in pain, but this year, God lifted us up and gave us double honour for every bit of shame we went through," Jemimah added.
