The five things that Champions Trophy triumph helps us forget

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They Came! They Saw!! (they didn't read newspaper reports) and They Conquered!!!
This pretty much describes the last three weeks in the lives of our cricketing heroes who added yet another limited overs trophy to their treasure chest - silverware that had eluded their grasp in the past, thanks to a resurgent New Zealand in 2000 and the rain gods two years later.
It took the 'Men in Blue' a further 11 years to make the finals of this biennial tournament that seldom managed to attract the sort of attention that the World Cup for ODIs has garnered. If the rains had played spoilsport in 2002 (Sri Lanka batted twice but rains interrupted India's reply on both occasions), things looked bleak enough this time round though skipper Dhoni and his men eventually pulled off a win, leaving England ruing their fate and continuing to hold their 'eternal bridesmaid' tag. 
More than the victory, the manner that it came should please cricket fans. The Indians won three straight matches in the round-robin stage, their semi-finals against familiar foes Sri Lanka and the finals against the host team England. In fact, they didn't lose a single match on this visit, including two warm up matches against Pakistan and Australia. 
For once, the English weather appeared to have suited the bowlers, both speedsters and spinners alike. They came out of nowhere to stamp their authority on rival batsmen, even as their batting counterparts continued to bully their way in the shorter format of the game. 
At the end, the Indians picked up all the silverware that was on offer. The trophy, possibly the last from this tournament, the man-of-the-match award for the egregious Ravindra Jadeja, the batsman of the tournament for Shikhar Dhawan and once again the highest wicket-taker for Sir Jaddu. Game, Set and Match for Dhoni indeed! 
Now where does that leave the Indian ODI team? At the very top of the pile in terms of ICC cricket rankings. And, where does it leave the cricket administration? At the top of the pile in terms of its stranglehold over the ICC and the administration of cricket. 
We list out five things that we can now safely remove from our memories, now that Dhoni has done the country proud with yet another trophy to his team's credit...
5. The issue related to media management Services Company Rhiti Sports, Dhoni’s stake in it and the conflict of interest that it represents. Any captain who wins the ODI and T20 world cup plus the CT must have a say in all things financial at the BCCI!
4. The embarrassing loss to the same opponents in the test series last autumn where the chorus against Dhoni grew so shrill that even his long-time supporter and then chairman of selectors Krish Srikkanth turned coat and asked for his sacking.
3. The small matter of betting that cops have registered against the Chennai Super Kings ‘Chief Enthusiast’ Gurunath Meiyyappan and his links with the BCCI President-in-Exile N. Srinivasan as well as matters related to conflicts of interest between IPL and BCCI.
2. The big debate on banishing IPL into the wilderness to ensure cricket’s overall well-being will take an interesting turn now, especially in the wake of some robust performances by the so-called IPL heroes in the Champions Trophy encounters – both Indian and foreign players.  
1. Egg on the face of all the so-called cricket experts, especially those on social media, who predicted a loss of face for the team similar to their last visit to the ‘Old Blighty’ over two years back. Will these so-called experts have the courage to stand up and receive the yolk please?
Already there are signs of things to come... Srinivasan has been re-elected as TNCA president for the n'th time. He has also taken the flight to London along with his 'laptop' Jagmohan Dalmiya to attend the ICC meetings.