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'Prayer Meetings, No Conversion' - Jemimah Rodrigues' Father Breaks Silence On Gymkhana Row

Akshita Patel

Jemimah Rodrigues' dad denies using Khar Gymkhana for religious activities (@PriyanshiBharg7/X.com)Jemimah Rodrigues' dad denies using Khar Gymkhana for religious activities (@PriyanshiBharg7/X.com)

Days after he was accused of using Khar Gymkhana’s premise for luring innocent people into religious conversion, Jemimah Rodrigues’ father broke his silence and claimed innocence, stating that he held prayer meetings in accordance with the Gymkhana’s rules and that the conversion charges are completely false and baseless.

Jemimah Rodrigues, India Women cricket team’s rising star, was caught in a controversy over her father, Ivan Rodrigues’ questionable antics at Khar Gymkhana. Mumbai’s prestigious Khar Gymkhana honoured Jemimah with its membership but revoked the same during a recent AGM meeting after complaints over her father misusing the premises and violating bylaws.

As per the previous report, Ivan Rodrigues held 18 religious events at the Gymkhana’s community hall for over a year with the alleged aim of converting innocent people by brainwashing them. 

Ivan Rodrigues denies Khar Gymkhana's allegations

However, Ivan firmly rejected the baseless allegations in a social media statement. According to Business Standard, Jemimah’s dad claims that he used the gymkhana premises for prayer meetings with proper permission from the authorities. Neither did the prayer meetings were meant for conversion nor did it violate any bylaws. Ivan added that as a law abiding citizen of the country, he is hurt by the unjust allegations.

"We had availed of the facilities at the Khar Gymkhana for the purpose of prayer meetings on multiple occasions, over a period of a year since April 2023. However, this was done in complete accordance with the procedures that Khar Gymkhana have in place, and in full knowledge of the office-bearers," he said.

"The prayer meetings were open to all and were in no way 'conversion meetings' as is wrongly labelled in articles in the media. To then be the subject of false claims and misinformation is disheartening. We have and continue to wish only the best for everyone," he added.

Jemimah Rodrigues, 24, made her debut in 2018 as an 18-year-old and quickly rose to fame with her aggressive style of play. She plays the anchor role in the middle order and has over 2142 runs in 104 T20Is. 

Jemimah Rodrigues disappoints in T20 World Cup

Meanwhile, Jemimah Rodrigues had an underwhelming outing in the recently concluded ICC Women’s T20 World Cup 2024, where India crashed out in the group stages following heavy losses to New Zealand and Australia. Jemimah, the supposed anchor of the team, scored only 68 runs in four games with an average of 17.00. Her inability to take responsibility and bat maturely cost India a semi-final berth.