Good news is a dangerous commodity in Indian cricket. Our reaction as a nation to any news, good or bad, typically borders on the extreme, and as far as our cricketers are concerned, a billion bouquets or an equal number of brickbats are always in inventory, with the appropriate ones making it to the market depending on the previous game’s result. Without exception, victory must be rewarded with frenzy and adulation while defeat means despair and the immediate search for the most suitable scapegoat. Balance, logic and caution are words as foreign to us volatile armchair enthusiasts as they are to an on-song Virender Sehwag.

In this backdrop, it is natural that the 6-1 pasting India dished out to Sri Lanka in the last series has been received by one and all with unbridled delight, and we’re back to proudly calling our boys the “men in blue” instead of the rather uncharitable “men with the blues” as some people had been dubbing them after their dismal recent performances.

It’s now time to raise a toast to our new heroes and, just like they had in 2003, words such as ‘reemergence’ and ‘reincarnation’ must flow as freely as the bubbly. Suddenly, things don’t seem so bad – a new captain is firmly in place, his predecessor is not staring down the barrel but in some deep dark corner of one himself, and a whole new set of enterprising youngsters are making their presence felt. It’s now of little relevance that the so-called ‘system’, which ought to hold the key to the long term health of Indian cricket, continues to be at the mercy of a bunch of power-hungry, unprofessional satraps, for whom cricket is just another lucrative platform from which to score political points.

Don’t get me wrong here – the intent is not to play party-pooper and find a reason to whine even after a decisive win has been secured. India’s performance against the Lankans deserves applause, as every such successful effort does. This is merely a request to exercise some restraint and not get carried away by the euphoria of a single series victory, that too one that has come on decidedly friendly territory.

This series no doubt marks an exciting new beginning for Indian cricket, with a promising bunch of youngsters storming on to the scene. Apart from Mahender Singh Dhoni, whose explosive brand of cricket we had already had a glimpse of, the emergence of new names like RP Singh, Sree Santh and Suresh Raina has provided plenty of reason for optimism.

But let’s also appreciate that this band of newcomers are just that – newcomers, still in the formative stages of their international careers. Over time, as they gain experience, most of them will hopefully form the nucleus of future Indian cricket teams, but as of now we need to retain some sense of perspective and temper our expectations.

Dhoni is unquestionably the find of the season, but only time will judge how he manages the dual pressures of donning the gloves and blazing away at the top of the order. Further, he as well as Gautam Gambhir, can be delightful front-foot stroke makers, but they are yet to face the test of negotiating genuine quickies in trying conditions off the back foot. They may have the wherewithal, or like Sehwag before them rely on disdainful stand-and-deliver batting even against raw pace. The point is, we will discover all this in due course of time, and rather than elevate them to demigods right away, we should be more concerned with ensuring that they get the right kind of opportunities to develop their all-round game. Dhoni the blaster to Dhoni the master is not a journey he will be able to accomplish overnight – and we as the cricket-loving public need to understand that.

The fast bowling battery also looks to be firing, but injury is a perennial concern with Indian pacemen, partly because most captains can’t resist over-burdening them and also because the levels of fitness they come with from the domestic scene is typically far short of international requirements.

The young brigade has also nudged up the overall fielding standards of the side by more than just a couple of notches. Of them, Suresh Raina is proving to be an absolute livewire, with ground fielding in the same class as that of Kaif and Yuvraj, if not better. More importantly, there don’t seem to be any liabilities in the field any more – no one who needs to be hidden at long leg or tucked away at sweeper cover to avoid embarrassment – which in itself is a major improvement.

But despite the infusion of all this young blood, we must recognize that the team still very much revolves around the core that it has been built around over the last many years, barring of course the unceremoniously deposed skipper. Tendulkar, Dravid and Sehwag continue to be the big guns of the Indian batting line-up and most victories can still be traced to exceptional performances from one or more of their blades. This is not necessarily cause for worry – in fact, just playing alongside cricketers of such distinction would perhaps be the finest education for these budding youngsters.

All this however, I reiterate, will require us to give them the benefit of enough time and not impatiently demand superlative results in the short-run. The team management is clear that a process is being put into place with an eye on World Cup 2007, so let us also set our sights that far. Let us not put them on a pedestal unbecoming of their present credentials, only to readily yank them back to earth when they fail to live up to our expectations. Let us for once treat the good news of the last one month as a sign of a possibly bright future for Indian cricket and not get lost in a bout of disproportionate elation.