Suniel Shetty Applauds Jemimah Rodrigues for Skipping WBBL to Support Smriti Mandhana

Bollywood actor Suniel Shetty applauded Indian cricketer Jemimah Rodrigues for choosing to remain by teammate Smriti Mandhana’s side after opting out of the ongoing Women’s Big Bash League (WBBL).

Sharing a screenshot of a newspaper report on his X handle, Shetty praised Rodrigues’ quiet show of solidarity.

“Bumped into this article first thing in the morning and my heart felt full. Jemimah leaving the WBBL to be by Smriti’s side. No big statements, just quiet solidarity. This is what real teammates do. Simple. Straight. Genuine,” he wrote.

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Bumped into this article first thing in the morning and my heart felt full.
Jemimah leaving the WBBL to be by Smriti’s side. No big statements, just quiet solidarity.

This is what real teammates do.
Simple. Straight. Genuine pic.twitter.com/dL04daGjSu

— Suniel Shetty (@SunielVShetty) November 28, 2025 >

Rodrigues had recently flown back to India to attend Mandhana’s wedding and was scheduled to return to Australia to complete her WBBL commitments for the Brisbane Heat. However, the franchise announced that she requested a release from the remainder of the season.

“The Brisbane Heat have agreed to a request to release Jemimah Rodrigues from the remainder of the Women's Big Bash League,” the team said in a statement.

According to the Heat, Rodrigues returned to India after their match against the Hobart Hurricanes as part of a pre-arranged plan to attend Mandhana’s wedding. The celebrations were later postponed due to a health issue involving Mandhana’s father. The franchise confirmed that Rodrigues will remain in India and will not return for the final four games of the WBBL season. She had been the Heat’s top pick in this year’s International Player Draft.

Rodrigues recently played a key role in India’s historic Women’s World Cup triumph, scoring an unbeaten century in the semifinal against seven-time champions Australia as India chased down a target of over 300.

Meanwhile, Smriti Mandhana and Palash’s wedding, originally scheduled for November 23, was postponed after Mandhana’s father was hospitalised with symptoms resembling a heart issue. Palash was also admitted to the hospital a day later.

Unverified social-media posts, particularly from Reddit, have circulated various allegations regarding the postponement, but neither Smriti nor Palash has issued any public statement addressing the reasons behind the delay or the online speculation.