From biting cold to tropical heat, is Indian cricket truly moving in one direction?

With India's tough selection policies producing instantaneous result, Dhoni's young brigade have earned the right to cherish the moment and celebrate the occasion. After all, winning the Champions Trophy is no mean feat considering that it includes only the top eight ranked teams. The win becomes that much more sweeter when one takes into account that only four players from the 2011 World Cup team were part of the winning campaign in England.

The panel led by Sandeep Patil has clearly shown the gumption to drop senior pros in Zaheer Khan, Yuvraj Singh, Virender Sehwag and Gautam Gambhir, a quality visibly lacking in the previous panel headed by Kris Srikkanth. The system of rewarding fine performances in domestic cricket and IPL has brought rich dividends with the results for all to see.

Look at the replacements. M Vijay has scored more Test centuries in one series than Sehwag did in two years. Shikhar Dhawan's performances in the last four months have clearly overshadowed Gambhir's achievements over the last three years. Debatably Yuvraj's ODI place went to Ravindra Jadeja and the south paw has just gone from strength to strength. All along Bhuvneshwar Kumar has ensured that the team has not missed the presence of the once dependable Zaheer Khan.

While all players and pundits alike applaud Team India, it is quintessential for the men in blue to start winning abroad on a consistent basis. That is the true test of strength, that is one mountain that needs to be climbed at a steady pace.

The sub-continent like conditions in England worked brilliantly in India's favour as it ensured that the batsman consistently raked up totals in excess of 300, with the pitch assisting spin bowling later on in the innings, aiding the team's unbeaten run at the tournament.

However, it is rightly said that when a team enjoys a string of victories , its negatives are quickly placed in the back burner. India will do well to address the key issues that need to be sorted out if they have to start winning abroad regularly.   

Despite the ominuous form shown by both the openers, Rohit Sharma's inability to capitalise on the start is definitely a cause for concern for the team management. While he has done enough to merit his place in the side albeit as a make-shift opener, having specialist openers in Vijay and Rahane waiting in the wings, Sharma's inability to make a big score at the top won't be tolerated for long.

Bowling in slog overs has been a perennial problem for Team India. With Yadav, Ishant and Kumar unable to make much use of the two bouncer rule, India's bowling inadequacies in the end overs have been exposed time and again. Even in the Champions Trophy final against England, with the match reduced to a T-20 encounter, Dhoni opted to go for Jadeja and Ashwin for over number 19th and 20th respectively, clearly showing the level of confidence or the lack of it he had in his faster men. 

Having  a strong, fit and in-form bench strength is the hallmark of a successful team. Murali Vijay, Amit Mishra and Vinay Kumar who didn't get a single game in the recently concluded Champions Trophy, will be hoping to play a decisive role in the Caribbean tri-series involving Sri Lanka and West Indies.

In cricket, defeat is a habit and so is winning. Hopefully, India will now travel better and not be pushed onto the back foot in foreign conditions. They must enjoy this and they will, but the ultimate test awaits when they begin touring away for Tests, at the end of this year. That will be the key indicator to judge what the real progress has been.