‘Lose to anyone, but not Pakistan’: Jemimah on pressure of India-Pakistan clash ahead of T20 World Cup opener

India will begin their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign against Pakistan in Birmingham on Sunday. Jemimah Rodrigues highlighted the pressure and excitement surrounding the rivalry, while coach Amol Muzumdar stressed composure as India chase a strong start.

Hyderabad: Team India aim to continue their winning run against Pakistan as they kick off their ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2026 campaign in Birmingham on Sunday.

Speaking on JioStar’s ‘Champions Huddle’, Amol Muzumdar and Jemimah Rodrigues discussed the pressure of an India-Pakistan fixture, the threat posed by Pakistan captain Fatima Sana, and the team’s preparations for the tournament.

---

“I remember when I played my first India-Pakistan game. In the dressing room, Harman di actually spoke to us, saying, ‘Let’s not deny it. There is pressure from the outside because we know the history of India versus Pakistan. We know what the fans expect.’ Even my building watchman says, ‘Lose to anyone, but not against Pakistan.’ That is the kind of pressure because people love cricket. They love this rivalry,” said Jemimah.

On manifesting and visualising lifting the maiden ICC Women’s T20 World Cup title, Jemimah said: “Lifting that trophy! This morning, we visualised it. We do that as a team. It’s part of our usual process, where we sit together and visualise because we believe that if you see something long enough, you start moving in that direction. That is the theme of our team. We did it during the 2025 World Cup. Amol sir has made it a point for us to do it here as well, and we’ll continue doing that.”

On the team’s preparations, Jemimah said: “We prepare differently for every game. We’ve been putting ourselves in uncomfortable situations, whether in training or on the field. We have a lot of sessions where we play out different scenarios.”

“ Everyone says you have to thrive under pressure, but how do you do that? You do it by repeatedly putting yourself under pressure in practice and making those situations as challenging as possible, so that when you go into a match, you feel prepared. The preparation has been excellent. We’ve had great camps and this team is looking really confident. We didn’t have a great series against South Africa, but sometimes a defeat teaches you a lot more than winning. We’ve made notes of those lessons, worked on them, and now we can’t wait to get out there and play some good cricket,” Jemimah explained.

India Head Coach Amol Muzumdar analysed the threat posed by Pakistan captain Fatima Sana as a bowler.

“Every bowler, on a given day, can be a threat. It’s T20 cricket. It’s the shortest format of the game and a format where things can change very quickly. All you need to do is stay calm, keep your cool, and go out there and deliver what you’re supposed to,” he said.