Deepika Padukone's Epic Praise For 'Vulnerable' Jemimah Rodrigues' Anxiety Admission

Actress Deepika Padukone, a strong advocate for mental health awareness, responded to cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues' recent revelation about battling anxiety. The Padmaavat actress, known for openly sharing her own struggles with depression in the past, praised Jemimah for her honesty and courage in speaking up, emphasizing the importance of conversations around mental well-being in sports and beyond. Taking to her Instagram Stories, Deepika reshared a video of Jemimah in which the athlete opened up about her struggle with anxiety ahead of the ICC Women's World Cup tournaments.

Resharing the video, Deepika wrote, "Thank you @jemimahrodrigues for your vulnerability and for sharing your story..."

Speaking at a post-match press conference, Jemimah Rodrigues broke down in tears as she shared how her parents supported her during a difficult phase when she often felt numb due to constant anxiety. She said, "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. 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."

"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," she added.

Jemimah was benched after the initial few matches of the tournament. Speaking about it, she said, "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."

"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," she added.

Notably, powered by Jemimah Rodrigues' unbeaten 127, India achieved a record chase of 339 runs at the DY Patil Stadium in Navi Mumbai on October 30, defeating the defending champions by five wickets to secure a spot in Sunday's final against South Africa.

Topics mentioned in this article

Jemimah Rodrigues India Cricket Team Australia Women India Women Women's ODI World Cup 2025 Cricket