Indian football team coach Igor Stimac selected the team with the advice of an astrologer for several matches last year. 48 hours before India take on Afghanistan in the Asian Cup Qualifier in Kolkata on June 9, 2022, the national football coach Igor Stimac sent a list of a message to Bhupesh Sharma, an astrologer from in Delhi NCR, where there are 11 possible players for The match. There are names.
According to a report in The Indian Express, Stimac was introduced to astrologer Bhupesh by an official of the All India Football Federation (AIFF). According to the report, within a few hours the astrologer sent his answer to each name. For some players on this list, Bhupesh wrote, it could be good. Many players are advised to avoid overconfidence. For others, it is said that the planets and stars are not moving properly.
Watch India’s performance under the tutelage of Igor Stimac in graphic…
The team is selected against Afghanistan according to the astrologer
The Indian team, which was announced an hour before the start of the match on June 11, was made according to the astrologer. Two great players did not get a place in the team because their stars were not favorable ie their day was not right.
According to an Indian Express report, around 100 messages were exchanged between Stimac and Bhupesh in May-June 2022. India played four matches during this period. Played one friendly match against Jordan and three Asian Cup qualifiers against Cambodia, Afghanistan and Hong Kong. Before every match, Stimac contacted Bhupesh via message.
Along with the injury updates, the replacement strategy was also shared.
Before each match, Stimac sought information from the astrologer before his team finished and also shared player injury updates as well as the substitution strategy.
In an initial conversation, Stimac wrote, ‘Hi dear Bhupesh, nice to talk to you! I ask you to give your opinion about these players. He shared the date, time and place of birth of four players, three of whom represented India in the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
In fact, on June 12, a day after the match against Afghanistan (India won that match 2-1 against Afghanistan), Bhupesh messaged Stimac, ‘If you are free, tell me to the players that we selected. How to play?
Stimac replied, ‘Everything is right, I will explain it to you when we meet.’ The following afternoon, Stimac and Bhupesh met to discuss India’s playing 11 for the match against Hong Kong. India won the match and qualified for the Asian Cup.
Kushal Das introduced Stimac to astrologer Bhupesh Sharma.
When The Indian Express got information about this conversation, it tried to contact Astrologer Bhupesh, but he did not respond to calls and messages. Praful Patel, who was the president of the All India Football Federation (AIFF) at the time, told The Indian Express that he was not aware of the matter, but former AIFF general secretary Kushal Das admitted that he did in May 2022. Coach Stimac was introduced by astrologer Bhupesh Sharma.
Gave 12-15 lakhs to Astrologer Bhupesh
Kushal Das told the Indian Express, ‘I met him (Bhupesh Sharma) in a meeting. He (Bhupesh) has worked with many telecom companies and Bollywood celebrities. Then he told me during the conversation that the movement of the planets and stars help motivate people to make the right decisions.
Then Igor and I were worried whether India would qualify for the Asian Cup or not. The most important thing for me is that India should make a place. So I told Bhupesh that I will meet you at the coach.
About Bhupesh’s contract, Das said, ‘We used his services for two months, for which we paid him around Rs 12-15 lakh. India has qualified for the Asian Cup so it’s not a big deal.
