The Hundred: India's Jemimah Rodrigues is one of the league's overseas stars

Jemimah Rodrigues, who made her India debut aged 16, is one of the foreign stars aiming to light up The Hundred

You only need to flick on to Jemimah Rodrigues' Instagram page to see what a livewire she is.

The 20-year-old batter is the first Indian cricketer to confirm she is playing in The Hundred - she has signed for Northern Superchargers - a huge boost to the competition, which aspires to reach new and diverse audiences when it launches on 21 July.

With personality and entertainment being as integral to the competition as the cricket, Rodrigues is a handy signing both for her off-field pursuits as well as her on-field talent.

"I am someone who can't sit quietly," she told the BBC Stumped podcast. "I'm always up to some mischief, this overexcited kid."

Indeed her Instagram, with more than 400k followers, shows her posing as a kickboxer, playing the guitar, singing, and presenting her own Insta-show with big name cricket stars - men and women - all with the youthful confidence and innocence of one brought up with social media.

She is a natural performer, who made her international debut aged 16 and rose as high as number four in the ICC T20 batting rankings in November 2019.

A huge talent with even greater potential yet to be fully realised, she is one of the most talked about batters in the Indian team.

Getting into cricket

Like many women cricketers, Rodrigues, who is from Mumbai, attributes her love of the sport to the men in her family, although she was quick to make sure her mum got a mention too.

"My brothers used to play cricket. It all started when I was about three years old when my grandfather gifted me a plastic bat. That's when I fell in love with the game," said said.

"Dad started coaching me and my brothers - although it's not just my dad, but my mum too. She'll feel bad [not being mentioned], so Mum, shout out for you also!"

It is still frowned upon in some quarters for women to play sport in India. Even Rodrigues, among the youngest of the generation of professional cricketers, experienced opposition as she was looking to take her cricket more seriously.

"At that time in India, a girl playing cricket was not very accepted," she explained. "I'd gone with my father to one academy and they said, 'sorry she's too small and she's a girl, we wont be able to take her.'

"So I felt very bad at that moment and my dad was there. He was like, 'don't worry Jem, we'll work hard, we'll fight it out.

"The best thing about my dad being my coach was that even at that time he never stopped me playing cricket, being a girl."

Being ready at the right time

Rodrigues' talent was evident when she was only 13 and dominating the under-19s scene for India.

Asked if she felt ready for the pressures of playing for the India senior team when she debuted three years later, the confident youngster replied: "Honestly, I felt I should have played for India two years before.

"The thing was, I had performed domestically in nearly every game, except the three most important games - the two Challenger games (India A, B, C) from where you get selected for the India team.

"In those two games I got out on zero and one, and there was one more game against Railways where I got out on zero again. And Railways is like the entire India team - if you do well against them, it's a big thing, so I didn't do well.

"For the under-19s I was averaging 376 but then I heard the selectors said 'she's not scoring against the big teams so what's the use.' I was very frustrated and annoyed with myself. I've worked so hard and scored so much, but when it mattered the most, I didn't.

"So that changed a lot. I worked harder, developed new shots. The next season came and I had a double century in a 50-over game and 1,013 runs in 11 games.

"Everything was set. Then the Challengers came and there was a lot of pressure because the past was playing on my mind, so I had to overcome that, and I was the third highest run scorer in the Challengers. And that's how I made my selection for India.

"So I would say everything fell at the right time. If I'd got selected two years earlier when I thought it was the perfect timing for me, I don't think I would have made such an impact as two years later when I'd worked harder and developed my game."

Learning from disappointment

The T20 World Cup in 2020 was a landmark moment for the game and for India.

Rodrigues and her team-mates made it to the final at the MCG, where 86,174 spectators delivered a record attendance for a women's sporting event in Australia.

Others watched in their millions around the world, and particularly back home in India.

But when the game started, Australia opener Alyssa Healy took India's bowling apart, and their batting later collapsed. Rodrigues herself was out for a duck as Australia romped home to take the trophy.

The home side then famously danced on stage with pop star Katy Perry in celebration.

"It wasn't an easy time, even for my team-mates," admitted Rodrigues. "After the game we were all heartbroken. We tried to play it cool, you know, like 'OK, nothing has happened'.

"But that day we decided 'we're going to learn from this'. That day is not far away when we're going to win a World Cup for India and make India proud."

Rodrigues' mum and dad were in the stands in Melbourne that day. Their daughter thought she'd never be able to spot them among the swathes of faces.

But then she did, and in an instant realisd that no matter what happened on the day, she'd always have the love and support of her family.

Respect in the game

Rodrigues was speaking to us in the days after it was revealed in the media that the BCCI, Indian cricket's governing body, had yet to pay the players the prize money they were owed for the T20 World Cup 2020.

It is understood players are now sending in invoices at the request of the BCCI, so that the payments can be made.

Development of the professional structures around the women's game in India has not been as rapid as in Australia and England.

While professional domestic tournaments such as the Women's Big Bash (Australia), and The Hundred and previously the Kia Superleague (UK), have been created, there is no women's equivalent to the men's Indian Premier League.

The BCCI's Women's T20 Challenge is a triangular tournament, which attracts overseas stars, but is played across only six days and is more akin to an annual exhibition event.

Asked whether she felt the administration in India respects women cricketers as much as the men, Rodrigues replied: "It has changed a lot.

"I think the better cricket we play, the more these things will follow. We don't have to run after all these things, we just have to play good cricket.

"We are not here to complain or do something to get respect from others. I say this with all due respect - we are here to play good cricket for the country and our end motto is for India to win and win World Cups."

Putting the game first

While Rodrigues is on tour in England in the coming weeks, on the road towards the 50-over World Cup in New Zealand next year, she will be off social media, having decided that she is better off away from her phone and social media apps when playing.

Her frustration when she first wanted to be picked for India was that she didn't perform when it mattered most.

A similar fate occurred in the World Cup final at the MCG and she does not want to experience that again.

If she translates that disappointment into hard work and developing her game - and is able to put past experiences out of her mind like she did as a teenager - then Jemimah Rodrigues will be one to look out for.