I have found some ambiguities and anomalies in the birth details of some of the players, because of which I got a few predictions wrong, or was unable to make a prediction at all. There is a huge difference between what they are and what they are supposed to be—on the basis of the planets in their chart according to their supposed birthdate.
Yuvraj Singh: His birthdate has been given as 12th December 1981. If that were true, then, at least astrologically, he should not have had to deal with cancer. He would also have captained India. As both these things didn’t happen, I was certain he was not a 1981-born. Then I met a member of the Indian cricket team (who will remain incognito), who informed me that Yuvraj Singh’s real year of birth was 1979. When I used 1979 as the basis for my calculations, the events of his life seemed to fit in much better. I really wanted to speak to Yuvraj’s father to confirm the fact. However, when I finally managed to touch base with him and put this question forward, he was very upset and refused to comment.
Younis Khan: His official year of birth is 1977. If that were so he would never have won the 2009 T20 World Cup (and I thought of every other team except Pakistan as the potential winner then). He announced his retirement after Pakistan won the Cup and, when asked the reason behind it, he said[16] that he was already 34 years old and wanted a younger person to lead the team. That made him a 1975-born.
Virat Kohli: He is supposed to be a 1988-born. If that were true, he would be a Virgo-Libra according to my book What is Your True Zodiac Sign? The personality traits of a Virgo-Libra surely don’t match his. I have classified more than 2,000 celebrities into the 186 categories of personality types in this book. Virat Kohli should have featured in the top-10 names. But his name is absent because I was pretty sure that he could not have been born in 1988, as the official records mention. Simply on the basis of astrology, I would say that his year of birth should be 1986 or 1987.
I called Virat’s childhood coach, Rajkumar Sharma, and explained my worry that India might not win the World Cup in 2019 if Virat was indeed born in 1988. I hoped desperately that I would get 1986 or 1987 as the real year of the Indian captain’s birth. He remained silent for a moment and then retorted, ‘So, you saying that we should change the captain to win the World Cup?’
When I asked him again if he was sure that Virat was indeed born in 1988, he was silent for a moment before whispering a yes. Then he told me that he could not continue the conversation further as he had to go.
Well, certain things will remain a mystery forever. They were meant to be that way.
16.
The Prediction That Went Wrong
June 2014. Mumbai.
I was extremely buoyant about the upcoming football World Cup. The year had so far been productive with both my big-ticket cricket predictions—the IPL in March and the T20 World Cup in April—having come true. Gautam Gambhir and Lasith Malinga had led Kolkata Knight Riders and Sri Lanka respectively to victory in the T20 events as I had predicted. I was eager to add another huge prediction to my account. I certainly didn’t expect it to turn out to be a damp squib. But this prediction did teach me something priceless.
When I was researching the events, I saw the following sequence of birth years of winning captains until then:
1945-1953-1952-1960-1961-1963-1968-1970-1973-1981.
Well, it goes without saying that the next patch had to be 1986/87 isn’t it? It was a foregone conclusion. I just needed to find out who that 1986/87 born would be. It would be some footballer whose horoscope screamed, I’m the greatest!
Only two footballers could claim to be the greatest of their generation at this time—Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi. Fortunately, the horoscopes of both were available on the Internet. So, there was no ambiguity. I know it won’t go down too well with the Ronaldo fans, but Lionel Messi’s horoscope was a touch better than Ronaldo’s. A 1987-born will always be better than a 1985-born. Ronaldo was a great player as he was not just a 1985-born but also a full-moon baby with a few other planets in exaltation too. Hence, he had a powerhouse of a chart.
I was super-happy when Messi brushed aside all the teams with a spectacular display and singlehandedly led Argentina to the finals, exactly as I had predicted. Now, there was just one more match to go. Phillip Lahm, a 1983-born, had a weak horoscope as far as I was concerned and I didn’t think Germany would stand against the might of Messi and Argentina. To my horror, after a goalless first half, Mario Gotze just glided a goal across, which stunned Messi—who had been largely powerless that night.
It stunned me too. What was there in the year 1983 that clinched a World Cup?
What I learnt from that incorrect prediction was something that neatly tied up previous loose threads too. I discovered that Planet-Z had just moved over the horizon after 60 years in late October 1983, a few days before the German captain, Phillip Lahm, was born. It was a very recent entry of Planet-Z, the planet of glory. Later on, I realised that whenever a strong planet entered a zodiac sign, the nascent crescent of the planet produced some great people. Phillip was such a product. This patch lasted for just about three months—from October to December 1983. The greatest badminton superstar of all times, Lin Dan from China was born that year in October. A very rare phenomenon indeed.
One important lesson I learnt from football and badminton was the logical sequence of planets and the years, that is 1983 after 1981. The 1983-patch people born after October had the early rays of the exaltation of Planet-Z. This 1983 patch was so powerful that it produced two cricket World Cup wins. And the man who achieved two T20 WC wins was the 1983-born West Indies captain, Darren Sammy.
Now let us look at the sequence of the all the T20 World Cup wins, arranging them in the order of the year of birth of the captains from 2007, when the first T20 World Cup—held in September—was won by MS Dhoni. Ricky Ponting, the 1974-born, had won the 50-over World Cup in April the same year:
1981-1975-1976-1983-1983-1983.
The World Cup wins went to Mahendra Singh Dhoni-Younis Khan-Paul Collingwood-Darren Sammy-Lasith Malinga-Darren Sammy.
The first winner, Dhoni, jumped the gun. Then normalcy was restored and proper sequencing started once again.
Younis Khan (as mentioned in the previous chapter) and Paul Collingwood, the 1975- and 1976-borns could finally win a World Cup.
So, now the complete magic of the years 1974–76, 1981 and 1983 is over. How can we be sure that it is indeed over? Because, if you look at the list of potential captains who may be competing in the upcoming World Cup in 2019, none were born in 1983. So, we can safely assume that that sequence has run its course now.
I missed a correct prediction, since the event was based on a rare phenomenon that lasted just for three months! Well, that is one more reason why you should be well aware of whatever is happening around you. Every small occurrence in another field can point to things in your own area of a research or answer your questions.
17.
Yet Another 1981-Born in the Cricket World
17th September 2011–10th February 2015. Mumbai.
You can count on your fingers the number of Australian cricketers, who are loved by the Indians. Maybe Adam Gilchrist, the only Aussie who ‘walks off’ after he has nicked it and knows it. Also Brett Lee, perhaps, who played the game with a smile, and even sang a song with Asha Bhosle and starred in the movie, UnIndian. David Warner maybe—as the IPL-winning captain like Gilchrist, but that may be past tense now. However, the rest including the aggressive Ricky Ponting, Andrew Symonds—who was involved in Monkey Gate or Greg Chappel—who dropped Sourav Ganguly when he was the Indian cricket coach—are the Aussies who the Indians loved to hate.
I didn’t particularly like Michael Clarke, but the reason behind it was not the same as the other Indian fans. It’s not that I didn’t like Clarke because he had a run-in with the Indian cricket legend, Tendulkar; or because at times he stayed on at the crease even after it seemed he had nicked; or because he had reserved his best days to play against Ind
ia. But simply because he was born in the year 1981.
Why, my Lord, why? Why so much love for the Aussies?
While I was very happy that India had Dhoni, it was very upsetting to know that Australia had another captain material, who was born in 1981. Unlike in India, we have a fairly good idea about who the most likely successor of the current Australian captain would be. They groom the understudy under the auspices of the captain and ready him to take on larger challenges ahead. By the time the senior player retires, the younger man is prepared to take on the world.
It was very clear from the beginning that the baby-faced Clarke, nicknamed ‘Pup’, was next in queue after Ponting. Initially, he didn’t seem like an Aussie with a ‘devil-may-care’ attitude. In fact, he seemed far too pleasant to be an Aussie at all. Aussies wear their attitude proudly on their sleeves and he didn’t show that demeanour, at least in the beginning. Later on you could see the Ozi prototype in him. Just one glance at his horoscope and it was clear that he was going to go places. He had Uranus, Chiron and Planet-Y in exaltation just as Dhoni did. Added to that, he also had Venus and Mars in conjunction, a very peculiar phenomenon for sports people. A Mars-Venus conjunction makes a sportsperson achieve success after hard-fought battles, usually on the personal front.
In 2011, I wrote that Clarke would go places as captain. This article was written immediately after the end of the 2011 World Cup, since at that time it was evident that he would be a sure shot contender for the 2015 World Cup. And the planets were so powerful that they could surely confer another World Cup—this time, upon him. As one person could have only a certain quota of success, it was obvious that Pup would have a chance.
Even though Michael Clarke had the same planets as Dhoni, his achievements have not matched Dhoni’s as he also has a Mars-Venus conjunction, which makes things a bit difficult for him. Clarke has faced a lot of challenges in his personal life and has managed to come out on top. He had to battle skin cancer, umpteen injuries and a failed relationship. It was his destiny to overcome such tough challenges, reach the pinnacle and win some great laurels. The Mars-Venus conjunction puts obstacles in his path and yet gives him an edge in sports. It’s a double-edged sword and he works it well. He was nicknamed Pup when he joined a team of Australian cricketing legends, but has now earned his stripes. His brilliant century against South Africa in 2014 was a marvel of strength and fortitude, for it was later discovered that he had played with a fracture, fighting off the stinging balls from the pacers. That was a hard-earned victory ordained by Mars-Venus.
Clarke seemed to concentrate only on tests and ODIs, which was rather annoying for me as an Indian. Unknowingly, he seemed to be saving up his karmic quotient by not playing in the IPL or T20 cricket. If we compare the big wins, Dhoni has won two IPLs, one World Cup, one Champions Trophy, two Champions Leagues and one T20 World Cup, while Clarke has only managed one Ashes series as a captain. There were no spectacular wins at multi-nation or multi-team tournaments. Yes, he was one of the highest run-getters for Australia. But he still had a long way to go as a captain with a horoscope very similar to Dhoni’s.
And that really was not good news from India’s perspective.
If we start looking parallely at other sports, such as football, the 2008 UEFA Euro, the FIFA World Cup 2010 and the UEFA Euro 2012—were all won by Spain, led by Iker Casillas who is a 1981-born. Dhoni has won the 2011 ICC cricket World Cup, but he has also gone along to win many other tournaments, thus depleting his second World Cup chances. While football will see 1986–87 borns taking centrestage now, the case will not be replicated in cricket as football is a game for younger people, while cricketers can win even in their thirties. So a 1981-born has to win the World Cup and the only captains I know of who are 1981 born are McCullum of New Zealand and Michael Clarke of Australia (I don’t know who will captain Pakistan and England).
Let’s see the two squads. Australia has Michael Clarke, Shane Watson and George Bailey, all of whom are 1981–82 born with an exalted Uranus and Planet-Y and almost absolutely untouched karmic quotient. Of the three only Michael Clarke has captained a team to victory (the Ashes tournament). He led Australia to a 5-0 whitewash against England in the 2013–14 Ashes series. He only concentrates on one days and test matches. His efforts led Australia to become numero uno in the tests.
Brendon McCullum was the other 1981-born who loomed large and who captained New Zealand in the 2015 World Cup. He is well known by the sobriquet ‘Destroyer’.
Even in sports, where things seem to change every minute, the outcome is always pre-decided—long before the event takes place—the moment the sportsperson is born!
After I had successfully predicted the 2011 result that India would win, I immediately got down to the business of finding out who would win the next World Cup—the World Cup that was to be played in 2015 in New Zealand and Australia.
Months after the 2011 event was done and dusted, I came to know who would lead his country to victory in the next World Cup. My research and analysis pointed towards one man. The man chosen for this occasion was the then Australian captain, Michael Clarke.
In fact, astrology gives you clues to future events much before they actually happen. That is its beauty.
Michael Clarke had such a beautiful horoscope that I predicted[17] his winning the World Cup would be the pinnacle in his cricketing career. And that was as long as four years before the actual event. On the 17th September 2011, this article was published just six months after India won the World Cup.
Let’s look at the interesting sequence of events before and during the 2015 World Cup.
Throughout the entire series, at the back of my mind, one thing was always clear—that Michael Clarke would lead his team to victory. Every article I wrote during this period reflected that.
However, just before the start of the World Cup, Clarke was injured in a test series and didn’t show up for the tri-series either. There were also speculations that he might not even play the World Cup, let alone lead his team. Even Clarke feared that his career might be as good as over. But not me.
I wrote[18] that Clarke would come back from injury right before the World Cup began. I knew his karma was not over yet. At least not before he had won the World Cup.
18.
The Other 1981-Born Who Won the IPLs
June 2011. Mumbai.
‘Dude, tell me, is only one person selected in a particular year to win all the awards? 1981-born Federer and Serena winning so many Grand Slams. Casillas winning both the UEFA Euro and the FIFA World Cup. And will Dhoni be the only 1981-born who will shine in cricket? There must be someone else also, yaar. If it does work that way, then isn’t it very unfair?’ Derek’s question reflected what I had had in my mind for a long time.
Well, 2011 was a watershed year for Mahendra Singh Dhoni. On 2nd April, he lifted only the second World Cup for India after Kapil Dev in 1983 and, on 28th May, became the first captain (and the only one so far) to win back-to-back IPLs. Was Dhoni the only chosen man? Was it fair that he won it all?
The year 1981 was probably the greatest year of the century as far as sportspersons are concerned. Probably the greatest ever players were born in that year and the next, 1982.
Think of tennis and you cannot go beyond Roger Federer (okay, all Rafa fans, chill now) and Serena Williams. Do you really think the greatest contemporary male and female tennis players being born in the same year is just a coincidence?
If you look at football, the greatest achiever in the recent times was born in 1981—Iker Casillas. Saint Iker is not the most talked about player like Ronaldo or Messi. The players talked about the most in football are the playmakers or the strikers. But there is this bunch of individuals that gains their glory by not allowing the strikers to perform their best: the goalkeepers. It is very tough being a goalkeeper and even tougher being a goalkeeper captain. Casillas had been that for many years for his country, Spain, and his club, Real Madrid.
He has achieved a rare d
istinction no other footballer has ever achieved before, winning a treble of UEFA Euro, World Cup and UEFA Euro as a captain. He has also won the Champions League for Real Madrid. A great captain indeed.
In cricket, the greatest achievements go to the Ranchi man, the Super King from Chennai, Mahendra Singh Dhoni. His resume looks super impressive. An ICC World Cup, a T20 World Cup, leading India to the #1 position in tests and ODIs, an ICC Champions Trophy, two IPLs and two Champions League trophies. Wow. He has achieved everything a cricket captain can ever dream of.
India’s only individual gold medalist, Abhinav Bindra, was born in 1982, with almost the same planets as these other players in the best positions.
I can give umpteen examples like this.
Thus, 1981 was a defining year for sports—for achievers in any domain.
In 2011, my attention was drawn to another significant event in franchisee cricket. Kolkata Knight Riders made the bold move of removing the iconic Prince of Kolkata, Sourav Ganguly, from captaincy and in his place installed the Delhi boy, Gautam Gambhir. This led to widespread protests from the Kolkattans, who pledged not to watch any more matches of KKR without ‘Dada’. ‘No Dada, No IPL’ was the slogan. Despite this melee, Gambhir led the team impressively in his first year in 2011. Now the question was, obviously Dhoni could not keep winning the series every year; he had to be upstaged sometime. Who would do it? Well, who else could do it better than another 1981-born?
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