There is another reason why he seems more of a child of 1986 or 1987. Both the years contain planetary positions that can make someone a great legend. On 5th November 1987 there was a full moon. The year 1986 is even more spectacular. It also contains the groundbreaking, convention-defying planet Uranus in exaltation. Planet-Z too was at the deepest exaltation point on 5th November 1986, justifying the birth of a legendary player. Add to this the fact that Venus was in its own house in Libra and Mars was in exaltation that day. Mars does give him that stamina, strength and brute power and, of course, Venus seems to have bestowed him with loads of lady luck already.
Personally, I would like to believe that Virat was born on 5th November 1986.
Had Virat been born in 1988, he would have had a life and achievements similar to an Ajinkya Rahane or a Cheteshwar Pujara. In tennis, he would have been the equivalent to, say, the 1988-born Marin Čilić or Juan Martin Del Porto.
It is quite clear though that Kohli is in the league of the 1986-born Rafael Nadal or Usain Bolt or maybe the 1987-born Novak Djokovic or Lionel Messi. He certainly isn’t comparable to an Agüero, a Čilić or a Del Porto.
Something is wrong somewhere.
If Virat Kohli was indeed born in 1986 or 1987, then we Indians have a cricketing equivalent of a Messi/Usain Bolt/Rafael Nadal!
That would be great news for India. By the stratospheric fame and value attached to his name and the legend in the making that he is, it is very clear as daylight that Virat indeed was born either in 1986 or 1987.
26.
Just Before the Predictions…
Hopefully, you have read the preceding chapters which show the logic I use before I hazard a prediction. Now, we will get into the actual predictions. Let me take a moment here to explain the arrangement of these predictions. In continuation of the linear structure of the book, the predictions too have been listed in a chronological order.
The immediate interest and focus is on the upcoming ICC World Cup in 2019, so the first few predictions are on that subject. Following this are some upcoming popular cricket events—like the 2020 T20 World Cup, and India’s tour to South Africa to Australia again. The next set of predictions are about male and female cricketers, arranged chronologically, starting from the oldest to the youngest. Well, in some cricketers’ case, you may wonder if the birthdate/chronology is incorrect. Well, in that case you will have to go back to the chapter and read the explanation behind it.
Some of these cricketers have either already retired or are about to—and we shall look at their future. Some of them are in the current cricket squad and we shall look at their immediate and long-term future. Then, we shall focus on the future superstars of cricket, the young upcoming stalwarts. Finally, we shall look into the distant future and try to decipher what is in store for Indian cricket.
We will close the predictions with a focus on a few administrators. After the predictions, there is a bonus chapter on some tips for IPL team owners and talent scouts.
Cricket is a religion in India and I’m amazed at the way some people rattle off statistics connected to cricketers. Most of these predictions are answers to questions people have posed to me directly over time, or some enthusiactic cricket fans on various forums.
27.
Predictions
Prediction #1 : Can India Win a World Cup Now with Dhoni in the Squad?
‘Yenna idu, Neenga namma thalaivara paththi appadi eppadi ezhuthalam?’ (‘How can you write about our thalaivar (leader) like this?’) A participant in my training programme, conducted in Chennai, confronted me. Tamilians just love their heroes. They can be from the film world, politics or cricket. Mahendra Singh Dhoni was now the hero of Tamil Nadu and no self-respecting Tamilian liked the ‘thalaivar’ Dhoni being ridiculed. They wanted their heroes to be on top forever.
One of my articles annnouncing that the Chennai Super Kings would not remain the King any more had angered the Chennaiite. Even otherwise, it usually takes me a lot to pacify my Tamil friends when I say something negative about Dhoni. Moreover, they cannot see another Tamilian ridiculing their ‘Tamil’ hero. Yes, now Dhoni was no more the child of Jharkhand. Tamilians considered him their own.
Mahendra Singh Dhoni is arguably the best captain India has ever had. And, statistically, he is the most successful captain ever, especially when it involves the ICC tournaments. He is also the greatest ever finisher India has produced in limited-overs cricket. Actually, in any form of cricket. And, yes, he has earned the right to bow out when he feels it is the right time to call it quits. Whenever he does, the entire nation will bid him a teary farewell. It will be as poignant a moment as we witnessed when Sachin Tendulkar retired.
It seems Dhoni is targeting the picturesque Lords to announce his retirement, that is, assuming India reaches the finals of the 2019 World Cup.
I presume many Thalaivar fans are also fantasising about the special moment in 2011 being repeated in 2019—Dhoni hitting a six and winning the World Cup. But that will not happen. Dhoni is not going to hit a six to seal another World Cup win.
The best phase in Dhoni’s career finished in 2016 when Planet-X entered his twelfth house—the house of losses. In fact, astrologically speaking, everything after that has been a bonus and now, unfortunately, what we see is the tail end of Dhoni’s long and amazing innings.
I have utmost respect for Dhoni the batsman, the ambassador for cricket, the ice-cool captain and probably the best ‘thalaivar’ India has ever had. However, even though I may not like it much myself, I need to speak objectively from the perspective of an Indian astrologer—and I can see that Dhoni’s presence in the 2019 Indian squad could well rob India of another great chance to win a World Cup.
Die-hard fans of Dhoni would point out his extraordinary form in the 2018 IPL and his recent superb run in one-day matches in Australia and New Zealand in 2018–19. Good Lord, he even won the man-of-the-tournament award in the Australia series and you’re still counting him out? He has won a few matches under his own steam. His winning streak is intact. He is a lucky mascot for his team. His history with World Cups is well known. How can you not have him in the team that is World Cup bound? Besides, who is there to replace him anyway?
Trust me, I’m not bothered about the debate regarding whether Dhoni has lost his reflexes or not. I’m not concerned that the famous helicopter shots have disappeared or that his ability to finish off games has waned in the recent times. Nor do I panic when I see him accumulating runs painfully in ones and twos, boundaries being few and far between. I know that all these things don’t matter. I know that when a person is destined to win, all the talk about form and ability won’t matter. Whoever is destined to win will win—all adverse factors notwithstanding. The biggest question that bothers me is: according to astrology, does Dhoni still have a ghost of a chance to win another World Cup?
If not, then despite his now-hot now-cold form, the BCCI will stick to their guns, take Dhoni along with them and play him in all the matches. Ravi Shastri will give the camera his mock-serious look, thunder that India has everything under control and express his confidence in Dhoni. Virat will probably wonder what he is doing and agree half-heartedly with that decision. If that happens, you can be sure of one thing—India will not win the 2019 World Cup.
Virat Kohli put his foot down and ensured that Yuvraj and Gambhir were not in the squad any more. It is not really surprising that he didn’t do the same for Dhoni. It is not entirely his fault though. Dhoni’s the captain he’s played under and probably been ‘groomed’ and ‘trained’ to quite an extent. Plus he takes advice from him now and then as the former captain. It’s not really surprising that he’d be hesitant to do this. Besides, there aren’t enough finishers in Indian cricket today. Who next after Dhoni? No one—at least as far as the eye can see.
Some articles suggest that Dhoni should be in the team even if only as a mentor to the youngsters. Even Kohli looks towards him for many decisions upon the field. Now, that is ludicrous. I
t is a sport. No one can be a passenger. Everyone has to drive and pedal. But Dhoni is not just the wicket-keeper, even if that part of him is still sublime. His main role is that of the finisher and that is where India may just slip up.
The boy, who recently stepped out of his teens, and has enough spunk in him, another wicket-keeper-batsman, Rishabh Pant, is still too wet behind the ears to be trusted with the role of a finisher. There are, however, many names like Dinesh Karthik, Ambati Rayudu or even Sanju Samson, who could be entrusted with that role. But the BCCI and the powers-to-be probably believe that Dhoni is their man and all the others—the younger crop—can wait.
Personally, I feel the best man to replace MS Dhoni would be Ambati Rayudu or Dinesh Karthik (both 1985-born). Ambati has sizzled in the recent times and shown that he has a lot of mettle. The modest Karthik, who played a Dhoni to win the 2018 Nidahas Trophy final against Bangladesh with a last-ball six, said that he was a student in the university of cricket (probably referring to Dhoni’s finishing skills) where Dhoni was the topper. But it seems this student has come of age and is ready for the exams as the topper has already passed out of college.
The astrological reason why Dinesh or Ambati should replace Dhoni? Cricketing pundits would say, a like replacement, a younger replacement, a replacement for someone who is over the hill and so on. I, on the other hand, would simply say that we should replace Dhoni with Dinesh or Ambati, because these two have a far better horoscope—at this moment—than Dhoni. Karthik and Ambati will probably never be as great as Dhoni, but these two are the best fit right now to replace him.
After the recently concluded Asia Cup and the series against West Indies in 2018 and the series down under in 2018–19, Ambati has more or less sealed his spot in the #4 position. Now, bring in Dinesh Karthik in place of Dhoni and we are sorted. Even if Dinesh fails in a few matches, it is alright; he still has the ability to be a match winner at an important stage in the World Cup. With Dinesh we have a chance; with Dhoni we have none.
Dhoni has achieved everything to be achieved in cricket. He has won three ICC trophies as a captain – the ICC 2007 T20 World Cup, the ICC 2011 World Cup and the ICC Champions Trophy 2013. Mind you, he contributed a great deal in all of them as a batsman too.
I have said this before several times over—Dhoni’s best is over. And I stand by that. He has squeezed out the last drop of luck by winning the 2018 IPL. Now, at least according to astrology, he cannot win any more. If he is in the Indian XI in the final against England at Lords on 14th July 2019, it seems quite certain that he would not end up on the winning side. Dhoni batted well and finished games in Australia and New Zealand in 2018–19. But he will just not be able to do that if India plays England in the final of the World Cup in 2019. Why? Because he is not destined for another MOM award in the final of a World Cup. It would not be a big loss for him, but a huge opportunity lost for all the other ten players in the team.
Planet-X and Planet-Z are two planets that will be in the strongest positions during May–July 2019, when the tournament is being played. Both these planets are in the weakest positions in Dhoni’s birth chart and they will be transiting into his twelfth house—the house of losses. The twelfth house in astrology also stands for foreign countries. This could literally translate as ‘losses in a foreign land’.
Mind you, it is not about his form or anything. He may even end up hitting a century or take five catches in the final match, but he will still end up on the losing side. Unfortunately, that is how the planets work.
Waqt se pehle, aur kismet se zyada kisiko kuch nahi milta.
Dhoni always had the kismet (luck), but now is not his waqt (time).
Prediction #2 : Can India Win the 2019 ICC Cricket World Cup?
In India, there are exactly 7,245,986 cricket experts who could tell you who will win the World Cup in 2019. Yes, believe me, I have actually counted them. Okay, just kidding. While all these experts will tell you the cricketing logic behind their pick for the winner, I would like to tell you the astro-logic behind my choices.
I know this is the chapter you wanted to rush to and read first. But I didn’t want to give you the prediction directly. I wanted to present to you the logic behind it. But we need data to arrive at logic. In all these preceding chapters I was trying to build up to the logic so that we can finally predict the winner. Yes, we! You and I put together. Let us see if we can crack this.
So, amongst the top teams competing, which one looks like a Tyrannosaurus Rex to you?
Which team has the capacity to go down as the Sholay team and win the World Cup? What does your astro-logic say based on all that you have read so far?
India under Virat Kohli
England under Eoin Morgan
Australia under Aaron Finch
South Africa under Faf du Plessis
Any cricket expert, even your next door one, could tell you these are the four teams that have the most chances of reaching the semi-finals of the marquee event in 2019. Some keen observers would say Pakistan may replace one of the above teams, depending upon which Pakistan turns up in the event—this one being the most unpredictable team, especially when it comes to the World Cups.
But regardless of whatever the experts tell you, believe me, astrologically there are only two teams that have a chance to win this World Cup. Just two teams!
If you have read all the preceding chapters carefully, you would know the names even before I spell them out. Before I do that, as discussed elsewhere, let’s follow the four-step process to find out who will win the World Cup in 2019.
Step 1: Check out the horoscopes of the team captains (or the skulls).
Arranging the teams on the basis of the strength of the captain’s horoscope.
I have arranged the top eight teams, from an astrological perspective, from the best to the one with the least chances. As of now—the moment I am writing this, these are the probable captains for the World Cup. But a couple of changes cannot be ruled out.
England: Eoin Morgan
Australia: Aaron Finch
India: Virat Kohli
South Africa: Faf Du Plessis
Pakistan: Sarfraz Ahmed
Bangladesh: Shakib-Al-Hasan
New Zealand: Kane Richardson
Sri Lanka: Dinesh Chandimal/ Lasith Malinga
West Indies: Jason Holder
The reason for this ranking is based on the fact that the 2019 World Cup will be won by a captain born in the years 1986–87. The top three teams have captains who were born in the years 1986–87. Faf Du Plessis has a good horoscope, but it is not good enough. It’s amazing how South Africa continue to select captains who have ‘nearly there’ horoscopes. Though the 1990-born New Zealand captain has a good horoscope, it is too early for him yet to win the tournament. Who will captain Sri Lanka isn’t very clear as of now. The only person who has any chance of leading the Lankans to a World-Cup victory, the 1987-born Angelo Mathews, doesn’t seem to be in the good books of the selectors. If it is the 1989-born Dinesh Chandimal, then they have no chance at all. Lasith Malinga has already reaped all the benefits of his horoscope and he cannot create any further magic, if chosen as captain. The Pakistan team, too, looks good. But it has no chance to win the Cup, as Sarfraz’s biggest success was supposed to be the Champions’s Trophy that he won in 2017. The Pakistani head of the T-Rex is a bit skewed due to this win. Bangladesh’s captain, Shakib, was born in 1987 and has a great horoscope. Yes, the skull of the Bangladeshi T-Rex does look good.
Eoin Morgan and Aaron Finch have the best horoscopes amongst the captains and Kohli’s is no less. The England captain, Eoin Morgan, has never achieved a great win so far in his career, despite having a horoscope similar to the Olympic gold medalist, Usain Bolt (who has won several medals). This could be Eoin’s best chance to rectify that. And where else than on the highest stage amongst the cricket pantheon? Giving England a tough fight is Aaron Finch’s Australia. The Sandpaper Gate was the best thing that could have happened to the
m. If that had not happened, Steven Smith would have remained the captain and Darren Lehmann the coach. Both of them had no chance to win the Cup. But, with Aaron Finch born on a full-moon day, Australia is going to be a big threat. Don’t read too much into the test and ODI losses of Australia to India in 2018–19. This Aussie team can easily make a huge comeback. India’s captain, Virat Kohli, has a superb horoscope too (the 1986 version); one of the best captains in the fray if not the best. So, in the first step, England, Australia and India emerge the top three T-Rex heads.
Step 2: Check the army (or the body)
Undoubtedtly, the English team looks the best in terms of the players. What a team! Look at them. They have five players who were born in 1990, who may be a part of the playing XI, and at least two 1986–87 borns. The rest of the players, too, seem to have the best planets in place. This England team looks the strongest at the moment to win their first ever World Cup. This looks like the ideal Sholay team to me. The greatest starcast to ever assemble for England in a World Cup.
Australia lurks large with Warner and Smith set to return for the World Cup. Their opening pair of Finch and Warner has been effective and has won a World Cup earlier. They might do it yet gain. The addition of players like Travis Head, Chris Lynn and D’Arcy Short would add more might to their team. The only factor that goes against them is that they won the last World Cup and about five-six players in the playing XI would have been a part of the previous World Cup victory and, hence, their karmic quota might be a bit shrunk.
The Sri Lankan team is good, if a tad low on confidence after the exodus of talent from their set-up. They cannot win this 2019 edition for sure. But they could try to create some upsets. Pakistan has a good, young squad. Expect them to cause a few upsets. The body looks strong. Bangladesh has a set of players with mediocre horoscopes. They don’t look strong enough to beat the top teams to win the Cup.
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