Jemimah Rodrigues keen to end DC’s “chokers” tag in WPL

NEW DELHI: The newly-appointed Delhi Capitals (DC) captain Jemimah Rodrigues has expressed confidence of getting rid of “chokers” tag associated with the Delhi-based Women’s Premier League (WPL) franchise for not winning trophy despite reaching finals repeatedly. Delhi Capitals have reached the finals of all WPL seasons so far, but have failed to clinch a trophy.

Ahead of the 2026 season, DC announced Jemimah as their new captain, who will succeed Australia’s Meg Lanning. Jemimah Rodrigues said at a media interaction that although DC have failed in the WPL finals, they have been the most consistent team over the past three seasons.

A World Champion who plays with heart on her sleeve and belief in her bat

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She believes time can change outcomes and drew a parallel with India’s women’s team shedding the “chokers” tag as they won their maiden World Cup trophy in the 2025 ODI Women’s World Cup. She emphasised that DC has continued to work hard and believe that their moment to win the title will eventually come.

Jemimah scored a match-winning unbeaten 127* to help India chase a record 339 against seven-time champions Australia.

“I think DC for the last three years have played some exceptional cricket. I think we’ve been the best team in the tournament throughout the last three years. And yeah, things didn’t go well in the finals of all three years. But you know, the thing about time is it changes. And you never know. We saw it happen with us in the World Cup. Everyone used to call us chokers, the Indian women’s cricket team, until recently. But things changed. And I don’t think we changed anything much. We just kept working hard and kept believing. And that’s what DC has also done consistently. We keep believing that our time is now. And you never know. Things might just fall into place,” Jemimah said during a media roundtable organised by Delhi Capitals.

Jemimah praised Meg Lanning’s captaincy, saying she learned a lot by discussing leadership with her, especially how Lanning handled captaincy at a young age. She credited Lanning’s experience and guidance for DC’s success in reaching three consecutive WPL finals, called her one of the greatest captains she has played under, and said she is grateful to learn from her and excited for the upcoming season.

“Last year I did pick her brains a little on captaincy and how she captained the team over the last three seasons. I spoke to her about how she handled captaincy at a really young age and what is important for captaincy. So she has passed on a lot of her experience to me”, Rodrigues said.

“I’m really looking forward to this season. Meg has been one of the greatest captains I’ve ever played under. What she’s done for DC has just been phenomenal. And yeah, I couldn’t ask for a better person to learn from. I’m really looking forward to it this time”, she added. (ANI)