The predictions and astrology hardly matter in cricket. But if you want to take some positive from it you can go for it. We have seen many cricketers being superstitious and trying out new things for good as per advice by the astrologers. Even former Indian opener Virender Sehwag had tried not having any number on his jersey for luck in ODIs.
Narendra Bunde, a resident of Nagpur and a 'cricket astrologer' by profession, had made many predictions correct in the past. When MS Dhoni was questioned for his place in the Indian side, Bunde has said that 36-year-old would be playing in the 2019 World Cup in England.
He had also predicted India's World Cup 2011 win, Sachin Tendulkar's comeback from tennis elbow injury, his Bharat Ratna honor and Sourav Ganguly's comeback.
The renowned astrologer has now predicted that Virat Kohli's team would taste success abroad. He added that the Indian skipper will sign an endorsement deal unheard of in the history of Indian sports.
"I predicted about Dhoni when people were talking all sorts of things against him. Look at the results in the past four months. I can foresee that he will be very much there in the 2019 World Cup," Bunde tells PTI during a chat.
In the 1990s when Tendulkar was going great guns, Mascarenhas changed the game of celebrity management and turned the cricket icon into a multi-millionaire. He predicted something similar for Virat Kohli.
"What Kohli will soon be signed up for is like what (Mark) Mascarenhas did with Sachin (Tendulkar). In fact, it's going to be bigger than that in today's age. Kohli's Venus is very strong at the moment and that is why he will do well abroad."
There are overseas tours lined up for the Indian team in upcoming days. After South Africa, India will play in England, Australia and New Zealand.
"I mean it will be not as bad as in the past when the opposition would whitewash us. According to his stars and planetary positions, there are chances of positive results in places like New Zealand and Australia."
Bunde, who turned to predicting the future of cricketers in 2006, was a jeweller before that. Asked how he got into astrology, he says he had taught himself to see the future by reading books on the subject and picking the brains of renowned astrologers.
Among those who have taken his advice are Ganguly, Murali Karthik, S Sreesanth, Zaheer Khan, Gautam Gambhir and Suresh Raina. Even actress Preity Zinta had sought his guidance when her IPL franchise Kings XI Punjab was going through a torrid time.
The Indian women's team reached the final of the ICC World Cup last year, and Bunde says skipper Mithali Raj, too, took tips from him. And so was Vidarbha captain Faiz Fazal, under whose leadership, Vidarbha won their first-ever Ranji Trophy recently.
"I spoke to Faiz Fazal and asked him to wear number 24 in the domestic one-day games. He did that. As for Mithali, I asked her to wear number 33 jersey and it eventually proved lucky for her."
Bunde says the only time he went wrong was during the 2007 World Cup in the West Indies, where India were knocked out in the first round.
(With PTI Inputs)
