I have waited some 25+ years for this moment: India win the World Cup! This time it felt different. This time it was different. Not just the result, but the process. There was a sense of, "yes this feels right", to this team's successes. India are the best team in the world right now, without doubt. They are not a great team - there are no great teams in the world at this time. But this Indian team is a pretty good one. What they lack in bowling and fielding, they make up in sheer grit. This is the most mentally strong team in the world by some distance. That, I believe, is the main reason they are champions.
But, mental strength is not going to carry them for long. Sooner or later, their bowling's shallowness and the big disadvantage in fielding is going to be found out. Other teams will figure out where to hit India to hurt them most (hints: nullify their part-time spinners and take risks in running and pocket a bunch of extra runs every inning). And, they will not play all tournaments in the sub-continent. Abroad, their batsmen's frailties against bounce and lateral movement will be exposed. And then the real test of their mental strength will come.
For India to be a truly great cricket team, they need to find at least one world class wicket taking spinner (sorry Bajji fans, he doesn't qualify). And they need to seriously find some genuine fast bowlers - the hit the deck and let the ball talk type. If only Sreesanth was an adult... Zaheer is just barely managing not to fall apart. And if he has one injury too many, India will be in a real pickle. I still have hopes for Ishant to come back - but I really hope he doesn't come back like Munaf - bereft of any traces of pace. It still amazes me that just across the border, Pakistan seems to have an endless supply of quality seamers, but India has found about 3 in the past 50 years. May be India should take a hint from England, and entice some guys from Pak to migrate over.
I think improvements in the fielding department will the easiest to achieve. We just need to wait for the old order to give way to the new! But the selectors should make fielding a criteria for selection and put their money where their mouth is. I don't think the players can complain about the facilities in India anymore (at least not in the top-tier locations). In a stats-crazy sport like cricket, all that's needed is perhaps that we start counting the number of runs saved/leaked by each fielder, along with runs scored and wickets taken.
There are unfortunately no quick solutions for these issues. So despite their supremacy right now, India are likely not to dominate for too long. Surely SA, England and even Australia will recover quickly and hit back. I will be happy if India remain competitive until the next world cup, and not let this high fizzle quickly.
If I have to wait another 25 years, I may lose interest in Cricket. Mm, perhaps not!
