The Brisbane Heat have confirmed that Jemimah Rodrigues won’t be returning for the remainder of the WBBL season. The franchise accepted her request to stay in India following unforeseen personal circumstances involving a close friend and teammate, Smriti Mandhana.
Mandhana’s Wedding Postponed; Rodrigues Extends Stay in India
Rodrigues returned home after playing three matches for the Brisbane Heat, the last on November 15 against the Hobart Hurricanes. Her return was a part of a pre-arranged break to attend Smriti Mandhana’s wedding, which was to take place last weekend.
However, the wedding was postponed at the last moment because of her father’s health issues, and as a result, Jemimah Rodrigues remained in India to be with Mandhana through this phase.
Brisbane Heat Offer Full Support
Heat CEO Terry Svenson said the club fully understood the situation and respected Rodrigues’ request.
“It has been a challenging time for Jemi. While it is disappointing that she won’t continue in the WBBL, we were more than willing to allow her to stay in India. The Heat family extends its best wishes to her and to Smriti Mandhana’s family,” he said.
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Rodrigues also expressed her gratitude to the club and its supporters while voicing her sadness over her inability to return to the team:
Rodrigues’ brief, albeit effective, season ended
Before her departure, Jemimah Rodrigues played three WBBL matches in which she accumulated 37 runs at an average of 12.33 and a strike rate of 102.77. Her stint came on the back of India Women’s historic victory where they won their first ODI World Cup title earlier this month.
Heat Strengthen Squad with Grace Harris’ Return The Brisbane Heat will be boosted by the return of allrounder Grace Harris for their November 28 match against Sydney Sixers.
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Harris replaces Lily Bassingthwaighte, who sat out the last game as part of workload management. Even with this reinforcement, Heat are still under pressure as they continue their search for a maiden win in the ongoing season, having lost all six matches played so far.
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