Howzzat

by Greenstone Lobo

  So, in the 2019 World Cup, if Shikhar starts doing well, it should be a worrying factor for India. That may mean that India will not win the Cup. If he doesn’t do well, it will anyway put pressure on the middle order, especially on MSD, who would then have to get into the rescue mode. And he may not always be able to pull the team out of the woods, most importantly, when it matters the most.

  Coming back to Shikhar, his performances in the World Cup 2019 may not be satisfactory and he may slowly be ignored in the ODIs with the emergence of younger batsmen. Slowly but steadily Dhawan would disappear from the scene in both the tests and the ODIs. He would have a relaxed and fantastic life in Australia though after his retirement.

  Prediction #23 : What Will Ashwin Do?

  Ravichandran Ashwin has an awesome horoscope. The 1986-born has an exalted Uranus, an exalted Neptune, Planet-Z and Planet-X. He will certainly become one of the greatest cricketers to have played for India. Of late, Ashwin has been cold shouldered by the Indian team and he no longer plays in the shorter formats of the game. This may work as a blessing in disguise for the Chennai man. His karmic quota is focused on one area, that is tests, and that means he has chances of doing exceedingly well there.

  In the final analysis, while he will surpass Harbhajan’s tally of 417 Test wickets beyond doubt, he may fall short of Kumble’s 619. But his feats will be a tad greater than all the other spinners, for he would take those wickets in fewer test matches over fewer playing years.

  In fact, Ashwin may end up being the second best bowler in the history of Indian cricket. Make no mistake about it, he is going to be around for sometime as the planet Uranus will be in a very good position for him till 2024. He can create magic until that time.

  Despite the disadvantage of starting late in test cricket—at the age of 25 compared to 18 of Harbhajan Singh and 20 of Anil Kumble and Muttiah Muralitharan—Ashwin has been the fastest to reach 50, 100, 150 and 200 wickets. His strong planets indicate that he will continue to do the same en route to his 300, 400 and 500 wickets as well. Despite the presence of two young spin players in the squad, Ashwin will still shine in the test arena. He will continue to take wickets all around the world even in the most difficult of situations.

  Besides taking wickets he will also contribute profusely with his bat and will probably end up being one of the best all rounders ever. Expect a few more centuries from him.

  The Chennai lad’s captaincy skill is another area the world is yet to discover. Expect Kings XI Punjab to reap the benefits of his shrewd mind. Any IPL team that has Ashwin as their captain has a great chance to win the tournament. Remember, a 1986-born has to win the next two or three IPLs and Ashwin has great chances as he has a brilliant horoscope and he doesn’t captain elsewhere. Also, just like Kumble this engineer may land a chance to lead India in tests for a brief while at some point of the team’s transition or due to injury or rest to the regular captain, Kohli.

  Ashwin should have a very good career post retirement. Expect him to have some radically different business ideas compared to most other retired cricketers and he would make a super-successful businessman. Above all, he will also be giving back to the game that has made him what he is in a big way either in the form of a coach or a facilitator. His Planet-Z would ensure that he is a great mentor and teacher. He would identify young talent and nurture it to success. His academy would become one of the best in the country and he has great chances of becoming the Pullela Gopichand of cricket.

  Prediction #24 : Will David Warner Win Another IPL?

  David Warner has an extraordinary birth chart for sure. He has Uranus and Neptune as well as Planet-X in exaltation, and Mars and Venus in very powerful positions, making it a powerhouse of a chart. He also has the most powerful planet in the universe, Pluto, in deep debilitation that has made him go astray at times.

  One can only feel sorry for him, because so many other sportsmen have gone scot-free even after committing crimes of much greater magnitude.

  This incident left Warner and his family shattered and he has been through the worst phase of his life. How the mighty have fallen! The man who was destined to be one of the greatest players ever for Australia may not be their best ever. Worse still, one who had the potential to be their best captain ever, won't captain them ever again. That is a very sad thing for Warner.

  I am not justifying Warner’s actions here but, astrologically speaking, this could be the best thing that has happened to him. The biggest positive factor that arises from this is that Warner still has loads of karmic quota left. He may not be the Australian captain anymore, but he could still captain an IPL team. The 1986-born has a horoscope equivalent to Rohit Sharma’s or even Virat Kohli’s. So, the entire power of his planets will now be channelled through the IPL. A wounded Warner will be even more dangerous.

  Even as a player he could be of extraordinary help if Kane Williamson captains SunRisers Hyderabad. Hyderabad has better chances if Warner is made the captain. Kane does have a fab horoscope and he could always be a future captain. But Warner needs to captain the team now to unleash his full potential. Simply by being the captain he would lead his team to stupendous victories. Warner is here to stay in the IPL and destined to win more as a captain; at least one more IPL title, either with SRH or any other team who will make him their captain.

  Prediction #25 : Is There Danger of Virat Becoming Another Tendulkar or a Messi?

  I used to steal time to watch Tendulkar’s innings in the 1990s. Later on I would follow the live online commentary of the matches. If it was a T20 match, with some relevance, I would also watch the second innings on TV. If it involved my predictions, then I might keep a tab on the matches, but did not necessarily take time to watch them. Nor did I watch any other sport. No tennis. No football.

  As most football matches are late night affairs, I rarely catch them live even now. If there is one sportsperson I love to watch online these days, again and again, allowing YouTube to put the videos on loop, then it has to be Lionel Messi.

  I am not sure what endears Messi to us–his ‘messi-merising’ passes and breathtaking goals or his humble background or his controlled aggression. And yes, there is this one anguish I share with most other Messi fans—I feel sorry that he couldn’t win a major tournament for Argentina. I fantasised about him lifting the FIFA World Cup in 2014. Even in 2018, during the start of the World Cup, when my analysis clearly pointed to a 1986- or 1987-born as winning the Cup—and it finally boiled down to France and Argentina—I secretly hoped, wished and prayed that it would be Argentina and not France. When France finally won the World Cup, it was more of a relief than happiness, as Messi hadn’t gone down as the greatest ever. But isn’t he the greatest?

  Perhaps, he still could win a Copa America as a captain, but that wouldn’t be equivalent to winning a World Cup and Maradona will still have the bragging rights as the greatest ever and that will be annoying.

  Messi has great individual records but doesn’t have a World Cup to boot. Even Tendulkar faced that for a long time. After coming back empty handed in five straight World Cups, Tendulkar was over the moon when he won the World Cup finally. Yes, now he has that most important thing he always wanted. To be known as a World Cup-winner. It came in his sixth attempt!

  Seeing Virat Kohli scoring runs and breaking each and every record Sachin Tendulkar has ever made, I have a few worries. I secretly wish Virat wouldn’t better Tendulkar, otherwise he would end up being another Messi.

  I mean, we need to realise that one person cannot win everything in life. A sportsperson cannot be on the top in every aspect of a game, especially if there is another one around with a very similar horoscope.

  To put things in perspective, there were three players who had equal chances of winning the 2018 football World Cup—Spain’s Sergio Ramos (1986), Argentina’s Lionel Messi (1987) and France’s Hugo Lloris (1986). All three had the best horoscopes—the best in the world. But Lloris won it because he had nothing else to show for his a
chievement. Messi was already one of the greatest ever with record goal scoring; Ramos had already won three Champions League titles as captain hence, the trophy had to go to Lloris as the natural equaliser.

  If Virat becomes the greatest ever in terms of run making or any other achievement that is tough for someone else to surpass, then his chances to win a world Cup as a captain will go down for two reasons. One, he has already won a World Cup as a player—the same that Tendulkar, too, won. Two, he is the greatest player ever. So, the World Cup-winning captain would be someone else as an equaliser by the universe. Remember, the greatest ever players we have had in our country have never won a World Cup as captains—Sunil Gavaskar and Sachin Tendulkar! I’m afraid Virat is in danger of going that way.

  Strange, I know, but that is how it works. So, the question is, do we want to see Virat as the greatest ever cricketer or a World Cup-winning captain? Both, I’m sorry folks, may not happen. It has not happened with Messi and Tendulkar and may not with Virat either.

  Prediction #26 : Can Virat Better Tendulkar’s Records?

  As a chemistry student, I was in awe of isomers. I did not know I would encounter something similar when I studied astrology. For people with no background in science, an isomer is a molecule with the same molecular formula as another molecule, but with a different chemical structure. Isomers contain the same number of atoms of each element, but the atoms have different arrangements.

  This is really uncanny. Virat Kohli’s horoscope can be called an isomer of Sachin Tendulkar’s. It is a mirror image. The strongest planets in Sachin’s chart are the same as in Kohli’s. Sachin has Planet-X (2007 RH283) in exaltation, Virat does too. Sachin has Uranus in exaltation, and so does Virat. Sachin has Mars in exaltation, ditto for Virat! While the Little Master has Planet-Z (2008 FC76) in its own house, the younger champion has Planet-Z in exaltation. Nothing to choose between the two, really. Yes, a planet’s exaltation is always better as compared to it being in its own house—and therein lies the key difference between the two great players.

  So, the end result will be the same. If Sachin has attained greatness already, Virat too, will. At the end of his career, Virat will retire as one of the greatest to have graced the game of cricket. Exactly as Tendulkar did. So, the end picture is clear; now we only need to fill in the details. We know the climax of the story; we need to know the various interesting episodes that will dot the storyline.

  While the date of birth does give some idea about the extent of grandeur a sportsperson will enjoy, the biggest clue to their greatness comes from their date of debut. The debut is like a second birth for the sportsperson. The fascinating thing I have observed is that the greatest sportspersons make their debuts under the auspices of the most magical planetary configurations.

  Let us look at the test debut dates of two of the greatest Indian cricketers before Virat arrived on the scene.

  Sunil Gavaskar: 6th March 1971

  Sachin Tendulkar: 15th November 1989

  This may sound like a bit of mumbo jumbo to the uninitiated, but will shock people who do know some astrology. The astonishing bit about Sunil Gavaskar’s birthday (10th July 1949) is that he was born when Pluto had just entered its exaltation zodiac sign, Leo, after about 260 years! This was an extraordinary phenomenon. The initial phase of the exaltation of Pluto is called the ‘eagle’ phase. People born in this period go on to achieve success, fame and power that seem to arise out of nowhere. Rajinikanthh and Narendra Modi are some other examples of eagles in their respective domains.

  Sunil Gavaskar created a record of 34 test centuries, which stood unbroken for more than two decades, until the Little Master arrived on the scene. Gavaskar was the first man to reach 10,000 runs in test cricket, which was simply the eagle effect of Pluto. That cannot be taken away from him.

  Now, look at the debut date of Gavaskar—6th March 1971. Did you notice something? This is just a couple of years apart from Sachin Tendulkar’s birthday—24th April 1973.

  Now, when you examine the planets of Tendulkar’s chart at his birth, what do you see? Uranus in exaltation, Planet-X in exaltation, Planet-Z in its own house. Exactly the same planet arrangement as on Sunil Gavaskar’s debut date!

  This implies that when Sunil debuted, the planets indicated that he would create a revolutionary record (34 centuries and 10,000 runs) due to the exaltation of Uranus, and would achieve superstardom due to the exaltation of Planet-X, and Planet-Z being in its own house, both the planets indicating monetary success and personal glory respectively.

  The major planets remain almost in the same place for about two or three years. Simply put, Gavaskar’s dubut = Tendulkar’s birth. So, astrologically, this means Tendulkar was destined to become Gavaskar’s natural successor. He was the chosen one!

  And what happened next?

  Sachin Tendulkar debuted on 5th November 1989, when Pluto entered its own zodiac sign, Scorpio, after 260 years! What a celestial marvel. Both Gavaskar and Sachin share the magic of Pluto and Uranus. Pluto indicates the introduction of new paradigms and the end of the old order. Uranus brings in innovation, newness and the breaking of old customs.

  Gavaskar performed the feat for the first time; Sachin broke that record and created a new score in its place, and rewrote history books. Both managed to pull off the same tour de force due to the same set of planets.

  The magic didn’t end there.

  Three years before Sachin Tendulkar debuted—on 15th November 1989, a certain Virat Kohli was born in Delhi, on 5th November 1986, with almost the same set of planets that Sachin had at the hour of his debut! Tendulkar’s debut = Kohli’s birth!

  Since Virat Kohli has almost the same horoscope as Sachin, it means he should be his natural successor, just as Sachin was Gavaskar’s.

  (Virat’s track record in the national and international cricket arena, and the trajectory of his overall success, can be ascribed to the same planetary arrangement as that of Sachin at the time of his debut. After establishing a similar and astonishing planet nexus in case of Gavaskar and Sachin, it is hard to believe that the repeat is not true in case of Sachin and Virat. According to astrology, then, Virat should ideally be a 1986-born—the time which ties in neatly with how his life has played out so far—though the official records put his date of birth at 5th November 1988.)

  A miracle, isn’t it?

  The groundbreaking Uranus will help Virat break all previous records, including the highest number of test as well as ODI centuries by Sachin, and also the highest test and ODI runs scored. All the four records are in danger of being surpassed by Virat and each will be a wonderful conquest if it happens.

  Let us examine Virat’s debut dates to see how much of this is possible.

  Test debut of Virat Kohli: 20th June 2011

  ODI debut of Virat Kohli: 18th August 2008

  The test debut happened on a day when Planet-X and Planet-Z were in deep exaltation simultaneously in Pisces. This is phenomenal indeed. Pisces symbolises the deep sea and the achievements connected to Planet-X in Pisces and Planet-Z in Pisces are almost oceanic! The last time Planet-X was in Pisces in deep exaltation was way back in 1946, and that year produced three American presidents—Bill Clinton, George W Bush and (surprise!) Donald Trump. Not an ordinary planetary position at all. Easy to deduce that Virat Kohli can surpass Sachin’s 51 test centuries and 13,000 runs in test cricket.

  Besides, since Virat also had Venus and Mars in conjunction on that debut day, it only goes to show that he will achieve his milestones in test cricket after fighting hard battles. No wonder he loves to go for a win in test matches rather than settle for a draw.

  Look at Virat’s ODI debut that happened when Uranus was in its own house after 84 years and Planet-X was still in the oceanic Pisces! Now that is phenomenal too. I’m falling short of adjectives now. In ODI cricket, it is very simple. Kohli will not just break old records, but will create his own, which will be very tough to beat.

  So, will Kohli break Tendulkar’s r
ecords? Of course, he will. Definitely. Pakka promise! All the records of Tendulkar from the hundred 100s, the highest scorer in tests, the highest test and ODI centuries, the highest run getter in ODIs, the highest number of 50s, well all of these and many more of Sachin’s records are in danger. Virat will better many records of Sachin and faster. The legend of Virat Kohli will only grow—and stay for a long time to come.

  Could someone beat Virat’s records?

  Of course. Virat debuted in 2008. Someone born two-three years earlier, that is in 2004–06, could go on to beat Virat’s records. The show will go on.

  Prediction #27 : What Will Rohit Sharma Do?

  Rohit Sharma is probably the best captain India never had. He could have been a deadly captain, emulated MSD and won at least one World Cup for India. Unfortunately, he could never become the regular captain of India in either format, with the imposing Virat Kohli still around.

  India's loss was Mumbai Indians’ gain and Rohit has already notched up three IPL victories for them. One important factor in the horoscope of the ‘hitman’ that offers hope is that despite being a part of World Cup victory, he didn't play a huge role in the 2007 T20 World Cup win and he wasn’t even part of the 2011 World Cup win. It suggests that he could play a huge role in another World Cup, which India may win.

  Now, this is stupendous. If there is some way Rohit could be made the captain of the Indian team, especially in one of the two T20 World Cups coming up in 2020 and 2021, then India stands a great chance to win it. Rohit has proved to be a calm captain with a strong mind while captaining Mumbai Indians and also during the Asia Cup that he led to victory in 2018. We need that. He has the required planets too, which is a bonus.

  Alas, this is only a fantasy so far. Rohit is still being branded as a limited-overs specialist, but he can actually be an excellent test player. He has developed the habit of posting ridiculously good scores in limited-overs cricket, but he has been tentative in tests. He needs to be given an extended run in the tests since he has the capacity to change the rules of the game. In tests, Rohit can at least do half of what he has done in the ODIs. He can be the ideal number 6, coming in before Rishabh Pant. He can also be given the license to go for the kill as an opener in the tests. His overseas records are going to grow during the next three years. He may be just the batsman Kohli needs if they want to continue winning overseas. In the IPL, he can just go on and even win another title, but probably with a different coach.