Jemimah Rodrigues Inspired by Kapil Dev's 1983 Triumph Ahead of Women's T20 World Cup

India batter Jemimah Rodrigues has set her sights on creating history at Lord's this summer, drawing inspiration from India's iconic 1983 World Cup triumph as the team prepares for the ICC Women's T20 World Cup 2026.

The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side enters the tournament carrying the confidence of its maiden ICC Women's Cricket World Cup title victory in 2025, and Rodrigues believes that success has only strengthened the squad's hunger for more silverware.

Speaking to the ICC, Rodrigues admitted that the prospect of playing the final at Lord's immediately brings to mind one of Indian cricket's most cherished moments.

"Kapil Dev and the Indian men's team won their first-ever World Cup there. We would love to win our first-ever Women's T20 World Cup there. That would be super cool," she said.

India arrive in England and Wales as one of the favourites after ending their long wait for a global title last year. Rodrigues played a defining role in that campaign, producing a match-winning unbeaten 127 against Australia in the semi-final before India went on to lift the trophy in Navi Mumbai.

Rather than easing expectations, that breakthrough success has increased the team's desire to continue building a winning legacy.

"The monkey is off the back," she said. "But I don't think it's pressure.

"I think it's more motivation because now you've tasted what it feels like to lift one World Cup. It makes you want one more and then one more and then one more.

"So I think the team is even more motivated and even more eager. And more than that, we saw the kind of impact it had for women's cricket in India. We just want to continue that legacy going to England."

Rodrigues also highlighted the character within the current Indian squad as a key factor behind their recent success.

"I think this team has character. When you want to win big games, you need people with character, people who are different in their own way, but they have a thing that they'll do anything to win the match. That kind of an attitude. And I think that's great character.

"And that's why in any situation, I believe our team will find a way to win a match."

World Cup century remains a defining personal moment

Rodrigues revealed that her memorable century against Australia came after one of the toughest periods of her career, having battled poor form, anxiety and even a stint out of the side.

"I think firstly, the biggest learning for me was because I was going through a lot of anxiety, not doing well, got two ducks in the tournament, was dropped and four years ago, I was dropped from the Cricket World Cup," she recalled.

"This was my first World Cup. What I realised is that sometimes all you have got to do is show up because life has a way of making all things work together for good."

The right-hander credited those difficult experiences for preparing her for the biggest innings of her career.

"And I think, those four years actually trained me for such a moment as that, because I had to use all that experience that all the failures in all those years taught me maybe for such a time as that.

"So I think that was my biggest learning, that sometimes, especially when it gets hard and you don't have the strength to run or fly, sometimes all you have to do is just go and stand and God works out everything for you."

Pakistan clash opens India's campaign

India begin their Women's T20 World Cup campaign against arch-rivals Pakistan at Edgbaston on June 14, a fixture Rodrigues remembers fondly from the 2023 tournament.

Chasing 150 in that contest, Rodrigues struck an unbeaten 53 and combined with Richa Ghosh to steer India to victory under pressure.

"I think in 24 balls we needed 41 runs, which in a World Cup is a lot of pressure, like double the pressure," she recalled.

"And from there we went out and chased it down. I think that was very special for me and I still remember that."

Placed in Group 1 alongside Australia, South Africa, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Netherlands, India face a challenging path to the knockout stages.

But with a maiden global title already secured and memories of 1983 providing additional inspiration, Rodrigues believes India are ready to chase another historic World Cup moment - this time on cricket's most famous stage at Lord's Cricket Ground.