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Out Goes Selector, In Comes Astrologer

By Slogger
First publised on 2023-09-13 15:38:06

About the Author

Sunil Garodia Holding an extreme view and carting the ball out of the park is what interests him most. He is a hard hitter at all times. Fasten your seatbelts and read.

In a country driven by superstition and the need to 'rectify' the various 'doshas' one has through astrological consultations and then either wearing stones and threads or performing pujas and yagnas or both, it was but natural that someone, somewhere would introduce stargazing to sports. That the person happens to be a foreigner is surprising. Igor Stimac, the coach of the Indian football team, is a player from the golden generation of Croatian footballers. He, more than anyone else, must be well aware that teams are selected from a pool of players after considering their current form and fitness. Yet, when an AIFF official, Kushal Das introduced Stimac to an astrologer, Bhupesh Sharma, Stimac is reported to have relied on Sharma completely to select teams that would bring victory on the field. Out went selector expertise and form and fitness of players and in came birth-charts, palm reading and maybe numerology. X was maybe preferred over Y because his stars favoured a win if he was selected although X had not scored a goal in 10 matches. How absurd can it get? And to top it all, astrologer Sharma was reportedly paid Rs 10-15 lakhs for two months by the AIFF!

If astrologers can predict events, will sporting federations not send teams to tournaments where the resident astrologer predicts the team will face a rout? Will the BCCI now dispense with the hassle of selecting the selectors who select the teams (and save crores in the bargain) by appointing an astrologer to take care of the same? Will the astrologer/numerologist suggest Virat Kohli to change his name to Viraat Kkohli if he wants to score triple hundreds in every Test or India to be renamed Indiaaa instead of Bharat if it wants to top the charts in all formats of the game and win all the World Cups?

The sports ministry and the IOC must take strong action against the AIFF and ensure that such incidents are not repeated. 

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