Actress Deepika Padukone, a long-time advocate for mental health awareness, has applauded Indian cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues for courageously opening up about her struggle with anxiety. Deepika, who has spoken publicly about her own battle with depression, praised Jemimah for her honesty and vulnerability, emphasizing the importance of normalizing conversations about mental well-being in sports and beyond.
Taking to her Instagram Stories, Deepika reshared a video of Jemimah discussing her experience with anxiety ahead of the ICC Women’s World Cup, writing, “Thank you @jemimahrodrigues for your vulnerability and for sharing your story.”
In the emotional clip, Jemimah revealed that she faced intense anxiety before and during the tournament. Fighting back tears at a post-match press conference, she said, “I’ll be very vulnerable here because I know someone watching might be going through the same thing.” She described how she would often call her mother in tears before matches, struggling with numbness and self-doubt. Jemimah credited her parents and teammate Arundhati Reddy for being her pillars of support, saying, “Arundhati checked on me every single day. I used to joke that she shouldn’t come near me or I’d start crying again.”
Jemimah also spoke about the disappointment of being dropped from the team earlier in the tournament, which deepened her anxiety. However, she expressed gratitude toward those who stood by her during that difficult period, saying, “Sometimes all you need to do is hang in there, and things fall into place.”
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Her resilience paid off spectacularly. On October 30, Jemimah’s unbeaten 127-run knock led India to a record chase of 339 runs at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai, defeating the defending champions by five wickets and securing a place in the final against South Africa.
Deepika’s message and Jemimah’s story together underscore the growing importance of mental health advocacy in Indian sports.