Sachin Tendulkar was adjudged the 1997-98 Indian Cricketer of the Year. His reward: Rs 5 lakh and a trophy, which he received from Michael Dearden, chief executive, Castrol International.

While terming the last season as his best, Tendulkar said his achievements wouldn't have been possible but for the support of his team members.

Quizzed by master of ceremony Harsha Bhogle about his next target, Tendulkar said winning the 1999 World Cup topped his aspirations. ``The World Cup is my personal and the team's next target. With the blessings of our countrymen, we hope to achieve that,'' he replied.

Yadav was selected for the award by national coach Anshuman Gaekwad and junior coach Krishnamachari Srikkanth from a list of 24nominees, below 21 years of age, whose performances in the domestic circuit were evaluated.

Four other nominees for the award -- Amit Pagnis (Mumbai), Mohammed Kaif (Uttar Pradesh), Nikhil Haldipur (Bengal) and Reetinder Singh Sodhi (Punjab) -- received the Most Promising Cricketer Award carrying trophies and Rs 25,000 each.

The Cricketer of the Year award was determined after tabulating Indian cricketers' performances on the basis of a points system, with the top five emerging as nominees. The best among them was decided by the number of votes polled. The voters comprised cricketers who have represented the country in Tests and One-Day Internationals. The other nominees for the 1997-98 season were Mohammed Azharuddin, Anil Kumble, Saurav Ganguly and Javagal Srinath. The Castrol Awards are devised by the Professional Management Group (PMG).

The shortlisted junior cricketers from various zones are as follows.

East Zone: Rajiv Kumar (Bihar), Shiv Sundar Das (Orissa), Nikhil Haldipur (Bengal), SanjayRaul (Orissa), Abdul Masood (Bengal).

West Zone: Amit Pagnis, Rajesh Pawar (both Mumbai), Niraj Patel (Gujarat), Kunal Hazare (Baroda).

North Zone: Reetinder Singh Sodhi (Punjab), Shafiq Khan (Haryana), Mithun Manhas, Amit Bhandari, Virender Sehwag (all Delhi)

South Zone: Y Venugopal Rao (Andhra), Manohar Daniel, Rajasekhar Shambal (both Karnataka), Hemang Badani (Tamil Nadu), Sreekumar Nair (Kerala)Central Zone: Mohammed Kaif, Jyoti Yadav, Arun Solanki (all Uttar Pradesh), Sanjay Pandey (Madhya Pradesh), Kulamani Parida (Railways).