Is this Indian cricket team the best fielding side ever in the country’s history?

Only few years ago, Indian cricketers were termed as ‘donkeys’ in the field, and having boasted a powerful batting line-up and an average bowling unit, it was always the fielding department that let them down in crunch moments. In fact at one point of time, India was considered one of the laziest teams in ground fielding and a very ordinary catching side.

But this all changed from the moment India started thinking about the World Cup 2011. The Captain, the selectors and the team management knew it straight away that if India were to triumph in the ODI World Cup in 2011, they would need to improve in the most important aspect of the game of cricket ie fielding. This meant taking harsh calls on some of the senior players in the quest for young and dynamic players which could raise the standards of fielding, a team which does not only have class and elegance but also has more spark and the athleticism in the field.

And with all the necessary efforts done, it was only a while that India won the coveted World Cup title. While batting has been the strength, it is no surprise that it was the fielding that kept them in the game and yielded the best out of its bowlers. Now the world cup glory is two years old and the next world cup is as much time later, yet Indian selectors think the same way- “Look for young players”. It is nothing less than a treat for spectators to watch players like Ravindra Jadeja, Suresh Raina, Virat Kohli, Rohit Sharma stretching their arms full length diving across the field saving boundaries, plucking spectacular catches and affecting superb run outs which has been hitherto a rare scene in erstwhile Indian teams.

With this newly rejuvenated  India side, which has been ranked consistently at the top of the ODI rankings, it is no secret that this team is the best fielding side among all other teams at the moment and surely among the country’s own history.

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Are credit rating agencies dictating the policies of democratic economies?

India has been among the very exclusive club of countries which have been recording steady and high growth rates in the last decade even in the times of global financial crisis. Yet it finds itself with a negative rating by all the major credit rating agencies. The question is: Is India falling to the favours of CRAs and in turn putting their own set of policies at bay?

Credit rating, mainly, is an opinion on the future ability and legal obligation of the user to make timely payments of principal and interest on a fixed income security. This helps investors to make decisions to invest in more healthy stocks and indices. However, the reality is that presently financial institutions and rating agencies have become so powerful that ratings, if not favourable to a nation, may have a very bad effect on these.

A large section of people also have doubts over the reliability of the ratings of the CRAs grading, considering the present downgrading by S&P has come at a time when Indian economy is to an extent in a better position than several months ago. Regarding inflation, fiscal position and growth rate expectations, Indian economy is not in a worse position now. 

The most striking feature of these ratings is that these are shaking the very basis of democratic set-up of the countries. Many economies are framing their annual budgets and making policies that please the CRAs which is a testimony to the fact that the nations are not operating fully independently and the rating agencies have been indirectly dictating the policies of these nations.

It is high time that these rating agencies need to go through some strict verification and regulation by a third party institution. That will ensure transparency and will give a scientific and rational explanation of the grading and rating system.  

Why 2014 Elections will be the most tightly contested elections ever?

The build up to the 2014 elections has been growing very fast. In the midst of an ailing economy, weakening currency, high fiscal deficit and charges of mass corruption, the country has been so engrossed by the political developments in the recent few months.

The two major players- BJP and Congress have both looked scratchy and the third front parties have drawn the maximum leverage out of this situation. Congress, in particular has been blacklisted for corruption accruing to some major scams like 2G, CWG, Coal scam, etc. The list is exhaustive and speaks why people have started to lose trust in UPA-II as a capable government. But when we look at the alternatives, there are very few which show promise.

The BJP has had its own set of internal issues to resolve. The party leader L.K Advani has been pivotal for its growth but perhaps is pushing the accelerator a bit too much. And when we look at the bigger picture, the failure of BJP to keep JDU within the NDA makes things more interesting for the next year's elections. Albeit many pundits might be backing Narendra Modi's candidature for the Prime Minister, it remains to be seen if BJP changes its stance in any move to regain its alliances. 

Meanwhile, Mulayam Singh's Samajwadi Party and Mamta Banerjee's Trinamool Congress will look to expand their power and might even potentially dictate their terms in the UPA causing headaches for the Congress. Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party has been knocking a few doors and has huge support of the youth of the country.

All in all, the events in the second half of 2013 will be key to the way parties behave and thereupon give us a better and clear understanding of the political scenario in the country. At the moment, it looks gloomy!