If there were ever a nit-picking World Championship, India would have opened up quite a lead at the top of the table. Judging by the reaction to defeat in the final of the Coca-Cola Cup in Sri Lanka, you could be forgiven for thinking that they were the most inept side in the world, with a future as bleak as a winter's day in Northern Norway. And all this after a young and inexperienced outfit without Sachin Tendulkar (the Peacock Throne without the Koh-i-Noor?) had emphatically defeated the Sri Lankans twice in four attempts. Let's get some perspective here. The critics are carping about India's dismal record in tournament finals. Sorry, but did I miss something? There's only one limited-overs competition of any significance, and it's called the World Cup. The other tri-nation and four-team jamborees have about as much significance as a pre-season testing session in the gloom at Silverstone or Magny-Cours, sorties designed to fine-tune the prototype and have it ready for race day. And the starting grid – the next World Cup in South Africa – is still almost two years away, giving teams plenty of time to tinker with different settings.

In this atmosphere of collective despondency, most Indians have lost track of the huge strides that have been made in the past 12 months. The epic roller-coaster Test-series victory against Australia has almost been forgotten, as has the fact that India has unearthed (or perhaps stumbled across, given the chaotic selection policy) five or six youngsters of genuine class.

Head of the class is undoubtedly Harbhajan Singh. In the course of one heady month against Australia, he transformed himself from sleight-of-hand apprentice to sorcerer supreme. With Anil Kumble due to make a comeback, the Indians will weave many a tangled web in future series.

Zaheer Khan announced his arrival in Nairobi last year, a left-arm paceman with a yorker that resembled a Masai spear homing in on big game. He still has a way to go, especially in the line, length and using-his-head departments, but as any Antwerp gem merchant will tell you, rough diamonds are the first step to a solitaire.

Then, there was Yuvraj Singh, blazing strokes all round the park, and an athletic presence that was more All Black than Indian cricketer. Yuvraj struggled subsequently, and Muttiah Muralitharan had him dancing like a puppet on a string in Sharjah. But talk of his technical inadequacies is just so much garbage. Yuvraj is only 19, and there's plenty of time for him to iron out kinks in his game. If you find a vintage MG, you'd be an idiot to whinge about a few scratches on the front bumper.

In the Test arena, Shiv Sundar Das has been a revelation. His assured batting against Zimbabwe – both home and away – prompted sacrilegious whispers that he could be the next Gavaskar.

Ashish Nehra had dipped his toes in the shallows a couple of years ago, but he truly found his feet in Zimbabwe. He looks a bit too frail at times, but the vicious late swing and sparingly used yorker have caused enough consternation to suggest that he will be around for the long haul.

The same could be said of Virender Sehwag, the Delhi allrounder who looks like a cross between Tendulkar and Phil Kearns, the former Australian rugby hooker. Written off as a domestic bully by most, Sehwag decided to extend his territory one afternoon in Colombo. Kyle Mills, Darryl Tuffey and Dion Nash certainly looked intimidated enough as he smote the ball to all corners with Tendulkar-like disdain, and his 68-ball hundred was the sixth-fastest in one-day international history.

The doom-and-gloom merchants would do well to cast their eye in other directions. Look at poor old England. Would you rather have an Ian Ward or an Usman Afzaal instead of a Yuvraj Singh? And look at Australia. Magnificent side, yes, world-beaters, certainly. But their most outstanding prospect is Simon Katich, the Western Australia opener – and he is 25 years old, an over-the-hill veteran when compared to the bulk of the current Indian side. Steve Waugh and his version of Dad's Army are on their way out, and when they vacate the high ground, this young Indian team could well be poised to conquer.

Dileep Premachandran is assistant editor of Wisden India Online

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