India does have a good team, even if a bit short of players born in the 1990s. But, nevertheless, a good bunch indeed. The biggest flaw of the Indian team, as everyone knows by now, even without astrology, is their middle order and the lack of finishers. Dhoni isn’t going to do it again. The body of the Indian T-Rex looks malnourished. This may have a telling effect on the results. The body looks uneven with the addition of players either too young—like Rishabh Pant and Khaleel Ahmed, or too old—like Kedar Jadhav and MS Dhoni—in the playing XI. If India won’t play Dinesh Karthik, we lose even more chances. K.L. Rahul has a great horoscope but his best of times would come only in the 2020s. Vijay Shankar is not exactly going through a good patch astrologically right now. Ashwin will be absent anyway, so some chances may be lost there too. India hasn’t found the right mix of players in the right age group to win a World Cup. So, the T-Rex with the best body seems to be that of England, followed by Pakistan and Australia. India may end up with a badly damaged body if they are not careful.
Here’s a comparative chart of the most likely playing XI to represent each country. This is based on the commonest slot each player has played in over the last year and seems the most likely to be fielded by the respective countries. In case of Australia, you know that they were missing the duo very badly and they will walk straight back to their slots.
Slot
Australia
Birthdate
England
Birthdate
India
Birthdate
Opener 1
Aaron Finch ©
17-Nov-1986
Jason Roy
21-Jul-1990
Rohit Sharma
30-Apr-1987
Opener 2
David Warner
27-Oct-1986
Jonny Bairstow/ Alex Hales
1989
Shikhar Dhawan/ K.L Rahul
1985/ 1992
#3
Steven Smith
2-June-1989
Joe Root
30-Dec-1990
Virat Kohli©
5-Nov-1986
#4
Shaun Marsh/ Travis Head
1983/ 1993
Eoin Morgan©
10-Sep-1986
Ambati Rayudu/ Rishabh Pant
1985/ 1997
#5
Glenn Maxwell/ Chris Lynn
1988/ 1990
Ben Stokes
4-June-1991
Kedar Jadhav/ Vijay Shankar/ Dinesh Karthik
1985/ 1991
Wicket Keeper
Alex Carey
27-Aug-1991
Jos Buttler
08-Sep-1990
M.S Dhoni
7-Jul-1981
All Rounder
Mitchell Marsh
20-Oct-1991
Moeen Ali
18-June-1987
Hardik Pandya
11-Oct-1993
#8
Pat Cummins
08-May-1993
Chris Woakes
02-Mar-1989
Bhuv Kumar/ Siddarth Kaul
1990
#9
Nathan Lyon
20-Nov-1987
Mark Wood/ Dawson
1990
Yuzvendra Chahal/ Kuldeep Yadav
1990/ 1994
#10
Mitchel Starc
30-Jan-1990
Adil Rashid/ Joe Denly
1988/ 1986
Mohd Shami
3-Sep-1990
#11
Josh Hazlewood
8-Jan-1991
Jake Ball/ Willey/ Curran/ Stone
1990/95/93
Jasprit Bumrah
06-Dec-1993
It is very unfortunate that India has a pool of senior players who have already exhausted their karmic quota of success or younger players whose best times are yet to come.
In case Jos Buttler teams up with Jason Roy, it would be the most potent opening pair in the competition. In the last World Cup, won by Australia, the opening pair was Aaron Finch and David Warner, both 1986-borns. The year 1990 is the most important after 1986–87 and, this time, if England has two 1990-borns at the top, it could be a devastating factor for the other teams. It is scary to see that England has a 1986, 1990 or a 1993-born replacement for every slot. If the 1986-born Joe Denly replaces one of the spinners down the order, he can add to their might. Joe Root, a 1990-born, may just end up being the highest scorer for England, if not overall. Jason Roy and Jos Buttler could do that too. Expect some 1990-born bowler to be the highest wicket-taker too.
There is one player in the England team who has a badly placed Planet-X. That planet took him to the wrong side of the law once and he has already seen the worst as a result. The only blemish has now been removed and he is a free man now. Well, I’m talking about the all-rounder Ben Stokes. Overall, every member in the England team looks overwhelming. The bowlers are either 1987 or 1989-91 born, adding to the strength of the team. The country where cricket originated has never won a World Cup. This team seems to be the one that can finally make it happen. The English body of the T-Rex looks the most menacing.
Step 3: Check the coach (or the tail)
While England has two bases well covered—the captain and the team—the coach is suspect as he has already won two IPLs and one Big Bash League. Does he still have any karmic quota left to win another one? Yes. Well…almost. Trevor Bayliss, the England coach, has not won any laurels as a player, which works in his favour. Bayliss has a great horoscope and hence he may have some karmic quota left to win another huge tournament. Just because he has won a few major tournaments before, England loses half a point here. Their dinosaur has a slightly weak tail. But the body and the head are super strong and a slightly dented tail shouldn’t be a hindrance.
Australia has a very good tail with their coach, Darren Lehmann, paving the way for Justin Langer. Langer has the best horoscope amongst all the coaches in the fray and it looks like he is sure to win a World Cup for them. Will it be this time? Well, maybe. They will have to cross the biggest barrier in England for that.
India seriously doesn’t have a great tail. Ravi Shastri has already been there, done that; he has squeezed out all the possibilities as a player and then as a coach. By winning the test series in Australia in 2018–19 for the first time, Shastri has extracted the biggest victory of his career. Now, winning a World Cup would be a far-fetched idea. Anil Kumble would have been the best bet for India but, alas, that is a different story altogether.
Pakistan doesn’t have a good tail in Mickey Arthur, who has already won a Champions Trophy. Bangladesh coach’s horoscope doesn’t inspire much confidence either. Sri Lanka does have a good coach, which means the Lankan T-Rex has a good tail!
Step 4: Eliminate
Pakistan is out of the race. The reason is simple. Sarfraz Ahmed has already won the Champions Trophy in 2017 with the same coach. The CT is the second most important trophy of the ICC and, now, it won’t be possible for Pakistan to win another one immediately. Besides, Sarfraz has tough competition in Eoin Morgan, Virat Kohli and Aaron Finch, who have better horoscopes than him.
Mark my words, the Sri Lankan team under Dinesh Chandimal, has the ability to rise from the ashes. Their coach, Chandika Hathurasinghe, has an extraordinary horoscope and will engineer a great turnaround. They, undoubtedly, have the firepower to do well in the future. This time they might miss out though. Bangladesh just has a good skull and that won’t be enough.
So, the top two teams, according to me, after the complete analysis of all the T-Rexes are:
England
Australia
Yes, England have the best chances to win the tournament. They look like a real T-Rex with a great head, a fantastic body and a decent tail. England seems to have that set of players who can go on to be folklore heroes, crafting the first ever cricket World Cup win for their country. I will be really surprised if they don’t win it this time. It will take a miracl
e for any other team to win the Cup.
If England doesn’t, then Australia should win it. Only Aaron Finch can perform that miracle of beating England. With difficulty I stopped myself from proclaiming that England will be the country to win this World Cup. However, an almost-as-good Australia may pip England at the post. If England and Australia play the finals on the 14th of July 2019 at Lords, I would say that the match would be 75:25 in favour of England. If any other team plays England in the final, then the ratio would be 100:0. England should be one of the finalists for sure.
It pains me to say this, but India seems to have no chances to win the 2019 World Cup unfortunately. We have the best captain possible, but not having the best set of players, and a weak coach, will cost us the Cup. Sad indeed.
What do you have to say about this? What is your analysis?
What does your next-door cricket expert tell you?
And yes, not to forget the passionate Indian cricket fan, with dreams in his eyes, may rubbish all of this saying that astrology is hogwash; Kohli and his team will power their way to victory and Dhoni will have a fairytale end.
Time will tell.
Prediction #3 : Will India Beat Pakistan in the 2019 World Cup?
‘I am not really bothered about India winning the 2019 World Cup. What I want to know is: will India beat Pakistan? If India defeats Pakistan, then the World Cup is won for me.’ This would be most people’s sentiments after the horrific Pulwama terror attack in February. The Indian team would want to bring some sort of solace to Indians by winning against the Pakistani team. Of course, all this will hold true if India actually agrees to play Pakistan in the 2019 World Cup.
In case the ttwo teams do play, will India win the crucial match against Pakistan in the 2019 World Cup? The answer is a definite yes. The simple reason behind it is that Pakistan won a crucial match against India in 2017, the final of the Champions Trophy. That was one vital match in Sarfraz Ahmed's life—the biggest of them all—and by winning it he has lost the chance to beat India on an even bigger platform, which is the World Cup.
Sarfraz was born in 1987 and, by my calculation, Virat Kohli was born in 1986. So Virat has a better horoscope compared to Sarfraz. This time around the team Virat has is also better as compared to Pakistan’s. India is the favourite to win against Pakistan—and even astrology is with India.
So whether India wins the World Cup or not, the Indian fans can take heart from the fact that India’s record against Pakistan in the World Cups will remain intact. It is possible that India can meet Pakistan twice in the tournament and if that happens, India will beat them the second time too.
Can India meet Pakistan in the finals of the World Cup 2019? Not possible at all. The chances of both or either of the teams winning the Cup are low and hence both will not meet in the final. What if they do meet? Then it is simple. Virat will win the World Cup as Sarfraz has already won the Champions League. However, that only remains a fantasy.
Prediction #4 : Who Will be the ‘Man-of-the-Match’ in the 2019 World Cup Final?
4th February 2014. New Delhi.
I had always wondered what the exalted sun in the horoscope of the legendary cricketer, Sachin Tendulkar, meant. Sun indicates ‘honour’ and the tenth house indicates the government. People who occupy high offices in the government and/or are honoured by the government for some exceptional feat, always have the sun’s connection to the tenth house or a powerful sun in their horoscopes. When Sachin was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the mystery was solved.
That brings us to another very important award while discussing World Cups: the Man-of-the-Match award. The cricketer who wins this award in a World Cup final is the one who had a decisive role in tilting the game in his country’s favour. The more chances you have of that man being in your team, the better the chances of you winning the Cup. These are the men who take the bull by the horns and turn things around when their teams are facing adversity. Sometimes, they crush the opponents ruthlessly with an overpowering performance. They are the ones with the best horoscope amongst all.
These men-of-the-matches, too, come in patches. Let us look at these men since 1975:
Wasim Akram-Aravinda de Silva-Steve Waugh-Ricky Ponting-Adam Gilchrist-Mahendra Singh Dhoni-James Faulkner.
If you look at the birth years of these players you once again see an uncanny pattern in them: 1966-1965-1965-1974-1971-1981-1990.
If you notice, these are the years from the best patches. A 1977-born could not win a MOM as, astrologically, it was a slightly ‘inferior’ year compared to 1976 or 1978 or 1974 or 1981. Hence, during the 2011 WC final against India, when the 1977-born Mahela Jayawardene made a century and posted a challenging total against India, I didn’t worry. I knew he wouldn’t end up being the MOM. It had to be someone else. So, I had my hopes pinned on the openers, Sachin and Virender, who were born in 1973 and 1978 respectively, definitely better years than 1977. When both of them fell and Dhoni promoted himself in the order, it was very clear that a 1981 born—either Gambhir or Dhoni—would win the MOM.
The MOM’s performance will always be match winning—or match saving when the entire team crumbles. He stands tall amidst all the ruin and salvages the situation by ensuring it wouldn’t be a complete rout for them. While Mahendra Singh Dhoni gave a match-winning performance against Sri Lanka in 2011, Faulkner did the same against New Zealand for Australia in 2015. He killed the competition when he took the opposition’s best batsman and captain, Brendon McCullum, in the very first over of the game. Match over. Another 1981-born, Michael Clarke, ensured that the match still was in Australia’s favour, with a patient knock.
So, who will win the MOM in 2019 and win the match for his country? The clue to that comes from the sequence of the vital years. One important year that missed the sequence was 1986. It was a straight jump from 1981 to 1990. So, most probably the MOM will be a 1986–87-born. That is a greater reason why India shouldn’t have Dhoni as their ‘finisher’. It will be better to have a 1986–87 born in that slot. If we look at the Indian squad, we have only three players born in the years 1986–87: Ravichandran Ashwin, Suresh Raina and Rohit Sharma. There should be a 1986–87 born to finish the game for India, unless Rohit Sharma decides to a do a Ricky Ponting or Adam Gilchrist and helps India post a humongous score. So Suresh Raina fits the bill. Ashwin didn’t appear in the playing XI that won the 2011 World Cup, though he had a good outing in some games. So, we can bet on him to produce a great spell too. Yes, we have three 1985-borns in India and they also have some chances to do that for you—Ambati Rayudu, Dinesh Karthik and Kedar Jadhav. But a team like England has 1986–87 born Eoin Morgan/ Moeen Ali as finishers, exactly the right age to have so.
There is also a possibility of a 1990-born winning the World Cup MoM in 2019 as the winning captain is going to be a 1986-born anyway. In that case, Jos Buttler and Joe Root loom large.
If we look at all the likely playing XI from the various countries, England have the maximum chances to win the MOM this time. They have about four 1986–87-born players and five-six players born in 1990. That is the biggest worry for India or any other country.
I have a feeling that the 1986-born Eoin Morgan is the one who could play that role other than Joe Root. Morgan hasn’t done anything phenomenal so far in his career despite his superb horoscope. How about winning the World Cup as a captain, for the first time ever, and playing a stupendous knock? Morgan has the sun in its own house. Well, Jos Buttler does too! You do need a very powerful sun to be feted with the highest awards of your country. Sachin Tendulkar became the Bharat Ratna because of the exalted sun in his tenth house (of career). If Morgan or Buttler are ‘knighted’, you know what that means, right?
Prediction #5 : Can’t Ravi Shastri’s Horoscope Help India Win the World Cup?
June 2011. Mumbai.
‘This is the horoscope of a CEO,’ I said.
Vighnesh was perplexed. He was only interested in indulging in some fun conversation with me. Perhaps he didn
’t think I would seriously read his horoscope. ‘Haha. No, I just wanted to know what you think my tenure here would be like.’
I replied, ‘You are looking only at today. But, as an astrologer, I’m looking at tomorrow—or even three to five years down the line. Your horoscope is extremely powerful. You will go on to be a CEO. If not in this company, then in some other company. But it will happen for sure. And, yes, a very successful one at that.’
Vighnesh Shahane had Planet-X in the tenth house (of career), clearly indicating the topmost positions in life. He joined IDBI Federal Life Insurance Company as the head of Bancassurance. I was working in the Human Resources—Learning and Development function. Just a couple of months before he joined, my prediction in DNA that India would win the 2011 World Cup had come true and Vighnesh had come to know about that. Now, Vighnesh had an interesting story. The 1969-December-born was an ex-cricketer. He had played for the Mumbai Ranji team with the likes of Sachin Tendulkar, Sairaj Bahutule and Sanjay Bangar, to name a few. A freak accident left the six-feet-plus no option but to quit cricket, do his MBA and journey into the world of corporates.
On 20th March 2014, he became the CEO of IDBI Federal. He carried the passion of sports into business. With his intensity and drive he took the organisation from a ranking of about 16 to the top 10 in just five years.
Vighnesh had a fabulous horoscope. Only, he was destined to reach higher laurels as a CEO rather than as a cricketer. Sanjay Bangar was once just another cricketer, but he found his best career as a coach. Vighnesh’s horoscope reminded me of another 1969-born, Shane Warne. Warne was a legend as a player, but his extraordinary horoscope also ensured that he won the inaugural IPL edition of the tournament as a coach. A coach also needs to have a good horoscope to win a big event like an IPL or a World Cup. Just like a CEO who motivates and propels his team to higher aspirations, a coach too does. A coach is the tail of the dinosaur who will win the World Cup. A strong tail ensures balance for the body and the head to function properly.
Howzzat Page 11
