Bangalore: The bewildering smile on his face said it all. Australian One-day captain Ricky Ponting was clearly taken aback by all the adulation as a swarm of cameras - media photographers and enthusiastic parents - clicked away as he took dais with India's very own Javagal Srinath and former cricketer Arun Lal. Ponting, Srinath and Arun Lal graced the occasion of Parle's 'mera sapna such hua' (my dream come true) contest. The 20 winners, some of them as young as nine, their parents, invitees and the media had a get together with the cricket threesome wherein they answered questions fired from all and sundry at random. "Sachin has been a great thorn for Australia. We have tried everything against him and he has had an answer. Even Warny (Shane Warne) has been overawed by his supreme confidence and stroke play. Perhaps, we must have a new plan in place to tackle Sachin when we play India next," Ponting said in reply to a query. "The Indian One-day squad is really shaping up well and the win against England recently was sensational. It was pleasing to see youngsters like Kaif and Yuvraj playing beautifully. They backed themselves well and got ahead with the job playing in their normal way. Since, the Indians have proved that they can win in English conditions, which would be similarly to South Africa, they would be a big player in the World Cup," he said. On the contentious issue of sledging, he said, "As a team, we are making a conscious effort to tidy up. It doesn't look good for us in the eyes of the Australian public to hear comments such as from a South African player, who spoke at great length about it to a sports magazine. Yes, sledging is a part of the game, be we'll make sure it doesn't get too personal. We, as Australian players, aren't much bothered. At least, we don't take it to the media." As much as renowned commentator Charu Sharma tried to rotate the questions among the top players and the other dignitaries on the dias, it was undoubted that Ponting was the star of the day with most of the questions being fired at him. "I was surprised at being named the Australian One-day captain. The selectors perhaps thought that they didn't want to burden Adam (Gilchrist) with the additional responsibility. He has been doing wonderfully well as a wicket-keeper and batsman. My role as captain is also to ensure that I stay focussed a batsman," he stated in reply to another volley of questions. "Growing up in Australia as a young kid, I always wanted to be a cricketer and represent the country. Perhaps I was born with the dream of playing cricket and representing the country. I played cricket through primary school, high school, the academy and then realised the dream of representing the country. "David Boon has been a great inspiration in shaping up my career. As a fellow Tasmanian - a small state in Australia, he showed me the path with his great achievements. It would be great if I could parallel some of his achievements at the end of my career," Ponting, whose message to the youngsters was a loud clear, 'there is no substitute to hard work', said. No treading on any controversy on the ouster of the Waugh brothers, he said, "Perhaps, the Australian selectors wanted to give an opportunity to younger players in preparation for the World Cup. The Australian Board didn't want a situation whereby a vacuum would be created by the sudden absence of the Waughs from the team. Stephen has always come out trumps against challenges and I'm sure he must be working hard to get fitter and better." Javagal Srinath to had his fair share of views on Indian cricket, but though was not committal on his recent decisions to retire from Test cricket. "The Indians have done very well in the One-day series in England. It's only that they have had two bad days on the field in the first Test. Hopefully they should get over it and do better," he said. "Too much of technology will take away something from the great game. I'm not sure how the technology for helping on-field umpires to judge lbw (leg before the wicket) decisions will work. Though, personally, I would like to get lbw decisions in my favour as a bowler, I don't see how technology can help," Srinath said. "Cricket is still not a profession. I would advise young players and parents to ensure that they devote as much time to their academics as playing the game. If you think cricket is distracting your academics, stop playing the game," Arun Lal chipped in. "It is our endeavour to encourage cricket at the grass roots. We'll expand our tournament this year by including Kolkata city too," Ajay Chauhan of Parle said. Vivek Singh of Procam International, Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) president Ram Prasad and KSCA secretary Brijesh Patel also graced the dais. The 20 lucky winners of the contest as well as the 20 boys selected on the basis of the performance in the Parle inter-city schools' tournament were present on the occasion.

Tags: cricket, bangalore, australian one-day captain ricky ponting, india, javagal srinath, arun lal, australia, shane warne, mohammad kaif, yuvraj singh, south africa, world cup, charu sharma, adam gilchrist, david boon, tasmanian, australian board, karnataka state cricket association, ksca president ram prasad, ksca secretary brijesh patel.