Before the start of the ICC Women's T20 World Cup match against New Zealand, India's top-order batsman Jemimah Rodrigues was seen shaking a leg at the entrance alley of the Junction Oval, Melbourne.
Rodrigues was joined by an off-duty security guard and the duo danced to a song from Bollywood flick 'Love Aaj Kal'. The video was posted by the official handle of the International Cricket Council and captioned the post as: "Yes, @JemiRodrigues! Busting moves with an off-duty security guard at the #T20WorldCup".
The viral video caught the attention of Bollywood actor Kartik Aaryan.
“My favourite cricketer aces #HaanMainGalat !! Bring the cup home Jemi. And by popular demand also bring Security Ji to bollywood,” he reacted.
India became the first side to enter the semi-finals of the tournament with a three-run win over New Zealand in their Group A match. India have won all their matches so far.
The Harmanpreet Kaur-led side had previously defeated hosts and defending champions Australia by 17 runs in the tournament opener than beat Bangladesh by 18 runs.
India will play Sri Lanka in their final group match on Saturday (February 29).
With an average age of just under 23 in a squad featuring four teenagers, Harmanpreet Kaur’s side is awash with youthful energy.
Fans and players alike are being invited to 'The Big Dance' and India are taking that to heart, with social media showing the dressing room as a non-stop dance floor.
Before the start of the tournament, Smriti Mandhana, a fixture in the India team for five years, revealed that Rodrigues is the ring leader of the group.
Rodrigues, 19, composed a rap to mark Harmanpreet’s 100th T20I in September last year alongside Harleen Deol.
With 16-year-old prodigy Richa Ghosh fast-tracked into the squad without a T20I appearance and Shafali Verma, also 16, getting to meet her idol Sachin Tendulkar in Australia, dreams are coming true every day in the India camp.
“You can think of the vibe if you see the age of our team!” said the 23-year-old.
“With that kind of age group, there has to be fun and if there’s no fun there’s something wrong with the girls.
“It’s been like that for the last one or two years. I won’t say it wasn’t like that in the years before but since the teenagers have come, there is a different energy.
“Young players come into it with fresh thinking, they don’t have anything behind them. They know nothing. They’re very different people to we were when we came into the side at 17.
“They are very fearless, they don’t have a lot of pressure on them. They think like it’s any other match and coming into a World Cup, that’s the best thing about them.”
But, one player you won’t find getting her dancing shoes on is seamer Shikha Pandey.
