Kochi, Sep 27: Fresh from the stupendous victory in the Twenty20 cricket World Cup, Indian pacer S Sreesanth today exuded confidence that the triumph would bring glory to Indian cricket and expressed profound happiness on being a part of history.

Talking to reporters upon reaching here from Mumbai, he said ''hard work and God's grace brought us success and I am very happy to be part of the world champion team.'' Sreesanth said the T20 championship was tough, but the entire team enjoyed the whole format and it was a dream come true for all the players.

On the absence of senior players like Sachin Tendulkar, Rahul Dravid and Sourav Ganguly in the championship, he said there was no doubt that they were great players. ''I grew up watching Sachin bhai play and just wanted to play like him.'' Sreesanth termed M S Dhoni a good captain, who gave advice to the players and kept the momentum going for the team.

On the all-important catch he took to dismiss Pakistan's Misbah-ul-haq and clinch the Cup, he merely said ''I just completed the catch.'' Expecting a tough match against the visiting Aussies during the upcoming one-day series for the Future Cup, he said ''They are expected to come hard on us (after the semi-final defeat in the Twenty20 World Cup) and I am looking forward to the challenge.'' The local lad hoped that there would be a let up in rainfall in the city, where the second ODI was scheduled for October two, and said he would be happy to play before the home crowd.

Scores of fans thronged the airport to catch a glimpse of the cricketer, who was received by the Kerala Cricket Association (KCA) officials and members of his family.

KCA President T R Balakrishnan said the Association was in talks with a sponsor to suitably reward Sreesanth and some other Indian cricketers, who were part of the World Cup winning team.


Lauding the efforts of Sreesanth, he said the young pacer was instrumental in getting the prize wickets of Mathew Hayden and Adam Gilchrist in the semi-finals against Australia, which ensured India's berth in the final.


UNI