Time to defend World Champion status

Time to defend World Champion status
New Delhi: On a tour mired by injuries and a 4-0 wrap on the knuckles in as many Tests, the 'negative' remark on Gautam Gambhir's MRI report was the first 'positive' in some time for Team India. Perhaps that's an indicator that the ODI Champions will not meet the fate they met as No. 1 in Tests.
At the end of the Test series against England, India resembles a just-whitewashed house: shimmering from outside but in a complete mess inside. Shimmering because of the 'blue' they will don in the ODIs and messy due to what they went through in the last 30 days.

No need to recap what went wrong; we all know it like our right hand. What needs to be stressed is that while we probe the debacle, we must not live with it.
The team has unfinished task in England and an ODI series is by no means a trivial affair. India won the World Cup and that came with an added pressure of sustaining the tag over the next four years. For that to happen, what transpired in the Test series should now be probed only once the team returns. Or else, the hole may become deeper and the consequences that much serious.
No, this is not a call to pull the blanket over India's worst Test debacle in recent times, but a shakehand with reality. Players are still on national duty and 'over-criticism' of individuals or the team in the middle of a tour will only make matters worse.
If anything, things are looking relatively brighter. Specks of injuries have lightened, though not faded as yet. The BCCI has sent some stain removers in the form of Rohit Sharma, Varun Aaron, Ajinkya Rahane and R Ashwin, but Rahul Dravid remains the bleach.
After ending the Test series as the third-highest scorer, selectors recalled him to the ODI squad. In a spell of shock from this gift, Dravid announced the series to be his last, which left the selectors red-faced.
How India fares in the ODI series will only help the BCCI as they will know where exactly are the areas of concern and what remedial measures need to be taken, and to what extent. The Test series has no doubt given significant indicators but gauging performance in the ODIs will tell us if we need to overhaul or just fine-tune our Test cricket.
On that note, irrespective of whether India dig another hole for themselves or the World Champions show England why they are the Champions, it's time for India to deflate the bagpipe and play a new tune with some fresh air.