ISLAMABAD: Indian cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues, who powered India into the final of the Women’s World Cup with a stunning unbeaten century against seven-time champions Australia, has become the latest target of online hate from Hindu right-wing accounts after publicly thanking Prophet Jesus in her post-match remarks.
The 25-year-old batter, who was named Player of the Match, said in the presentation ceremony that she “wanted to thank Jesus” and “could not do this on my own,” describing how her faith helped her through anxiety and setbacks. “Towards the end, I was just quoting a scripture from the Bible — to just stand still and that God will fight for me,” she said.
Her comments, however, triggered a wave of abuse from extremist social media users, who accused her of promoting Christianity and engaging in religious conversion, claims that have never been substantiated.
Several right-wing accounts revived old videos of Rodrigues attending church events with her father, Ivan Rodrigues, who is reportedly involved in community outreach.
Twitter user @Anshulspiritual wrote, “I still stand by what I said. Jemimah Rodrigues used cricket as a tool for mass conversion. Show me one Indian who did such drama for religious conversion.”
Another account, @Tushar_KN, said, “Just a few cricket match wins and this country forgets cricketers doing shady things,” while @cric05949840 mocked Rodrigues as “Pakistan ka Muhammad Rizwan ki sasti copy,” adding that Hindu players never invoked “Bhagwan or Bhagavad Gita” after victories.
User @imarpitmi alleged that Rodrigues’s father had been “actively involved in Christian missionary work using Khar Gymkhana premises,” while @PanipatIV claimed, “Jemimah Rodrigues has made clear she’s first and foremost an evangelist and cynically using cricket to entice Hindus to convert to Christianity.”
User @Ashutosh1274 shared an old video of Rodrigues at a Christian gathering, alleging she was “mimicking spiritual possession,” captioning it with the slur “rice bag par convert hue log.”
The vitriol underlines a rising trend of religious intolerance on Indian social media, where expressions of Christian or Muslim faith by public figures often draw targeted harassment from nationalist users.
Despite the online abuse, many fans and journalists have defended Rodrigues, praising her resilience and humility. “It’s shameful that a player who just took India to the World Cup final is being attacked for her beliefs,” one supporter posted.
Neither Rodrigues nor the Indian cricket board has commented publicly on the trolling.
