WPL 2026: Jemimah Rodrigues motivated by thought of leading India as she gears up for debut as Delhi Capitals captain

India’s women’s World Cup-winning star Jemimah Rodrigues said she “enjoys” leadership and would wholeheartedly embrace the captaincy of the national team if the responsibility comes her way in the future.

India lifted the Women’s World Cup by defeating South Africa under 36-year-old stalwart Harmanpreet Kaur in November, with Jemimah playing the innings of a lifetime in the semifinal against seven-time champions Australia, where she scored an unbeaten century.

She will be now be leading Delhi Capitals in the Women’s Premier League (WPL), commencing Friday, with the young Mumbai player’s leadership skills likely to be closely followed as India look to the future.

“I’ve always enjoyed leading, I’ve led my state team and even the Challengers Trophy, the zone team…a lot in domestic (cricket). I genuinely feel that, having that added responsibility as a leader, it gets the best out of me because as a leader, then you have to lead from the front,” said Jemimah.

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“I think, that’s (leading the country) the motivation for me and it really gets the best out of me. Definitely, you know, leading in a state (tournament) like the WPL, it’s going to be great learnings for me, a great experience at the same time and not just develop me as a captain, but also as a player.

“Because, you know, you have to start thinking out of the box…I’m always thinking what the batter is going to do or what the bowler is going to do,” the 25-year-old added during a media interaction, when asked if captaining a WPL side is a stepping stone to leading the national side.

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Jemimah added she would like to keep a calm demeanour with a bit of aggressiveness to go with the situation.

“On the field, it is more on the calmer side. But at the same time, I like to think a little more aggressive. And I think that is kind of my side.

“My personality won’t change as much. But if you’ve noticed, every time I step on the field, I get into my zone, whether I’m batting or whether I’m on the field involved in maybe a little adjustments in the field placement.

“So, I think, my captaincy side, because I’ve also led Mumbai for many years, I think it is more on the calmer side. But at the same time, I like to think a little more aggressive. And I think that is kind of my side. I’ll just be a little more involved in making more decisions,” she said.

With Meg Lanning, who led DC to three finals, being a foundational figure, Jemimah when asked if she had received advice from the Australian stalwart, said a lot of experience had been passed on to her.

“Yeah, actually, last year I did pick her brains a little on captaincy. I did speak to her about how she dealt with it (captaincy) at a very young age, what is important for captaincy. So she has passed on a lot of her experience.

“And, I’m really looking forward to this season. Meg has been one of the greatest captains I’ve ever played under. What she’s done for DC has just been phenomenal. And, I couldn’t ask for a better person to learn from.”

On whether she gained leadership skills by playing alongside Harmanpreet and Smriti Mandhana, Jemimah praised the duo and said she had the belief she would have her own style of captaincy.

“One thing I’ve also learned is that everyone has a different style of captaincy. And I think my biggest learning would be to find your own style. But at the same time, I get to learn so much. Like Harry didi (Harmanpreet)… she’s more of the aggressive captain.

“She wants to be involved in everything that’s happening. And she wants to lead from the front, especially on the big stage. When the moment matters the most, I think Harry didi is always the one like, ‘I want to go there and perform and make sure my team wins’.

“And then from Smriti, I’ve learned how to stay calm. She’s very tactical, how she plans, how she goes about with her decisions. She’s a very smart cricketer. And the relation the bowlers have with her. I think, that is a very big learning.

Delhi Capitals will play their opening game against Mumbai Indians in Navi Mumbai on January 10.