Captain Rahul Dravid [Images] on Tuesday said the achievements of speedster S Sreesanth [Images] and former India medium pacer Tinu Yohannan, both from Kerala [Images], will inspire a lot of young boys in the state to take up the game of cricket.

Felicitating Sreesanth, who had won the Malayalam daily Mathrubhoomi's Sports Magazine 'Star of the Year' award in Kochi, Dravid said Kerala was the state, which has produced great sportspersons for the country.

"I am sure, with this sort of role model to follow upon, India will see a lot of good cricketers coming from this part of the country," Dravid said.

Terming Sreesanth's performance as "fantastic", Dravid complimented his family for their support.

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Coach Greg Chappell [Images], who was also present, said Sreesanth joined the team some months back and it has made a huge difference. "It was a pleasure see him bowling."

"I wish him all success and hope the rest of his career will be a long one," Chappell said.

Chappell presented the award comprising a cash prize of Rs 100,001 and a citation.

Cricketers including Virender Sehwag [Images], Mahendra Singh Dhoni [Images], Suresh Raina, R P Singh, Munaf Patel [Images], Venugopal Rao and Mohammed Kaif also attended the function.