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Indian Cricketer of the Year contest

At 6 pm IST on Sunday, the online poll for the Rediff-Castrol Indian Cricketer of the Year closes.

And 24 hours before that deadline, there seems no doubt that Dravid's incredible consistency this year has swept the popular imagination.

As of Saturday evening our time, the polling results read: Dravid 1117 votes, Tendulkar 243, Ganguly 147, Anil Kumble 36 and Srinath, 31.

For those who came in late, a recap:

For a period of 12 months, a panel put together by Castrol has been tracking the performances of Indian cricketers in the international arena.

Performances were rated in both Tests and One-Dayers, and points awarded for runs scored, and wickets taken.

At the end of this period, the five leading points-scorers were shortlisted. They are: Sachin Tendulkar, Saurav Ganguly, Rahul Dravid, Anil Kumble and Javagal Srinath.

This list has now been sent to every single Indian international cricketer now living, inviting each of them to vote for their Cricketer of the Year.

The results will be tabulated and, at a function in New Delhi on November 16, the player from among the five named above with the most votes will be named Castrol's Indian Cricketer of the Year.

Simultaneously, Castrol and Rediff ask for your vote -- tell us who, among the five in the shortlist, was first among equals during the 12-month span now ending.

Pick your Cricketer of the Year, send in your entry, and the player with the most votes on this online poll becomes eligible for the Popular Choice award.

Further, all entries that match the official decision will go into a draw. The winner is eligible for CDs worth Rs 2,500 from the Rediff shop, and there are consolation prizes of CDs worth Rs 1,500 and Rs 1,000 for the next two in line.

All you have to do is email your entries to us via the 'Mail Prem Panicker' link below.

In the subject line, do clearly mark the name of the cricketer you are voting for.

Along with your message, do send us your snail-mail address and telephone numbers, in order to enable us to contact the winners and send the prizes across with minimum delay.

Entries close on November 14.