Khar Gymkhana president denies allegations of Jemimah Rodrigues' father using club hall for religious activities: Reports
Khar Gymkhana president Vivek Devnani has dismissed allegations of Indian cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues' father Ivan using the club hall for religious activities. Devnani claimed that there are political motives behind the allegations and that no evidence has been offered over the alleged claims.
A major controversy erupted on Tuesday, October 22, after several media outlets reported that Jemimah’s membership at Khar Gymkhana, one of Mumbai’s most prestigious clubs, was canceled over allegations that her father Ivan booked the club’s banquet hall for religious activities.
A report in Firstpost quoted Devnani as telling The Times of India that while Jemimah’s membership with Khar Gymkhana had been revoked, no proof has emerged over allegations of the club being used for religious activities.
“Khar Gymkhana is scheduled to have its managing committee and trustee elections later this month. These allegations are being made with political motives. No evidence has been offered for any alleged wrongdoing," Devnani said.
“I would request and trust our wider body of members and the media to be cautious in relying on misrepresentations and falsehoods,” the club president went on to add.
As per reports, Jemimah was offered club membership of the Khar Gymkhana in 2023 upon invitation.
Jemimah Rodrigues had a disappointing 2024 Women's T20 World Cup campaign
Jemimah (24) was among the key members of India's 2024 Women's T20 World Cup campaign in the UAE. However, she had a poor tournament with the willow, scoring only 68 runs in four matches at an average of 17.
The right-handed batter was dismissed for 13 in Team India's opening World Cup match against New Zealand. In subsequent games, she recorded poor scores of 23, 16, and 16, respectively, as the Women in Blue crashed out of the ICC event. India suffered a nine-run defeat to Australia in their last group game, a must-win encounter for them.
Following India's early exit from the Women's T20 World Cup, former skipper Mithali Raj backed Jemimah to take over captaincy from Harmanpreet Kaur. She told news agency PTI:
"Smriti [Mandhana, the vice-captain since 2016] is there but I think someone like Jemimah, she's 24, she's young, she will serve you more. And [she] is someone who I feel on the field gets that energy. She speaks to everybody. I was very impressed by her in this tournament."
Jemimah has played three Tests, 30 ODIs, and 104 T20Is, scoring 235, 710, and 2,142 runs, respectively.