Mumbai’s Jemimah Rodrigues became the talk of the town last year after slamming a 163-ball 202 in an Under-19 one-day tournament. Subsequently, she received India call-up at just 17 for the tour of South Africa.

At Aaj Tak's Mumbai Manthan 2018 on Tuesday (October 23), Jemimah recalled meeting with the legendary Sachin Tendulkar at his home before her maiden international tour.

"Just before the tour of South Africa, Sachin sir invited me to his house. He asked me if I was nervous? He said it's good that you are nervous and that means you care for your game and you care to do well. His words motivated me a lot,” Jemimah said.

"He also told me how I should prepare and gear up for the tour. He said on such [bouncy] tracks, the ball comes to the bat well. It's all about your approach. You can take it in a negative way or in a positive way, so it's better you take it in a positive way. I think that blessed me a lot and it gave me a lot of confidence before going to South Africa," he added.

Jemimah, 18, has represented India in 14 T20Is thus far, scoring 336 runs at 37.33 with three fifties. She has also played four ODIs for the country.

"Getting photographed with him [Tendulkar] individually made it such a memorable day," Jemimah had told India Today before taking the plane to South Africa.

"Meeting Sachin sir was like a blessing for me. It was like someone pinched me when he first came. It was a moment of awe for us. The way he spoke, he was humble and made us look for positives ahead of South Africa tour," she added.

Jemimah Rodrigues will be seen in action during the ICC Women’s World T20 in West Indies next month, where India will start their campaign against New Zealand Women on November 9.