Deepika Padukone praises Jemimah Rodrigues for opening up about anxiety

Actress Deepika Padukone has lauded cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues for her openness about battling anxiety during the ICC Women’s World Cup.

Known for her advocacy of mental health awareness, Deepika shared a video of Jemimah speaking about her struggles and expressed admiration for the cricketer’s courage and vulnerability.

Sharing the clip on her Instagram Stories, Deepika wrote, “Thank you @jemimahrodrigues for your vulnerability and for sharing your story...”

The actress, who has previously spoken about her own experiences with depression, emphasised the importance of honest conversations about mental health in sports and beyond.

At a post-match press conference, Jemimah Rodrigues broke down while recalling her mental health struggles. “I'll be very vulnerable here because I know if someone is watching this, they might be going through the same thing. And that's my whole purpose in saying it - because nobody likes to talk about their weakness,” she said.

“I was going through a lot of anxiety at the start of the tournament, and even before a few games, I used to call my mom and cry,” she added. “Cry the entire time, let it all out — because when you're going through anxiety, you just feel numb. You don't know what to do. You're trying to be yourself. During this time, my mom and dad supported me a lot. And also, there was Arundhati, in front of whom I think I cried almost every day. Later, I joked and said, 'Don't come in front of me, I'll start crying.' But she checked on me every single day.”

Jemimah also opened up about being dropped from the team earlier in the tournament.

“I was dropped from the team. That really hit me. And when you're dropped, you have a lot of doubts because I always want to contribute to the team. But that day, I couldn't do much sitting out. And then when you come back in, there's a lot more pressure with everything that happened over the past month,” she said.

Reflecting on her journey, she added, “But sometimes, all you need to do is just hang in there, and things fall into place. So, I'm very grateful for the people who believed in me when I couldn't, and were there for me and understood me—because I couldn't do this on my own.”

Jemimah Rodrigues went on to deliver a match-winning performance, scoring an unbeaten 127 as India achieved a record chase of 339 runs at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on October 30.

India defeated the defending champions by five wickets to secure a spot in Sunday’s final against South Africa.