The Indian cricket followers feel empowered seeing their team scaling the No. 2 slot in the world ratings. But there are some serious indications that the ICC point system is far from accurate and do not necessarily reflect the true rankings of the teams.

But then, despite doubts about the accuracy of world rankings, Team India has done extremely well in the backdrop of the mayhem it went through in the recent past.

The now infamous public spat between Sourav Ganguly and coach Greg Chappell, the speculative news of splits in the team, the change of guards in BCCI and its never ending legal battles were enough to rattle the confidence of any team.

And, as if that was not enough, the unceremonious dumping of the ex-captain from the squad, followed by his return, looked too much for the team to digest.

Some of the practices in the sub-continent are so rigid that the captains hardly ever get a chance to make a graceful exit. One of the main ingredients of good captaincy is to relinquish the responsibilities at the right moment.

Captaincy is a time-honoured position. Ganguly had many opportunities where he could have laid down the captaincy. Instead, he chose to be sacked by the not so consistent selectors.

Indeed it was a case of self-inflicted tragedy on Sourav’s illustrious career as a captain. His downfall has also had a snowballing effect on his career as a cricketer.

Although, the results of the home series were important, Dravid must be aware of the significance of winning abroad. The current team management has appeared to be more daring and upright in dealing with issues.

The biggest gain has been the emergence of Irfan Pathan as a mature batsman. The recent results will temporarily stand to testify that the current team is heading in the right direction.

The Pakistan series could be emotionally draining for Team India. While any match-winner emerging out of this series will turn out to be the true hero, dismal performances could well bring the curtains down on some players.

More than Dravid, it’s testing time for Chappell. Although the Indians came out with flying colours in the previous visit, this tour would be different ball game altogether.