Indian national football team head coach Igor Stimac reportedly consulted a Delhi NCR-based astrologer Bhupesh Sharma before picking India's starting lineups during the 2024 Asian Cup qualifiers, according to the Indian Express.
In June 2022, India played against Afghanistan, Cambodia and Hong Kong in the qualifying round and before the start of every match, the Croatian coach consulted Sharma to pick the correct starting XIs.
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Indian Express claimed that they are in possession of the messages that were exchanged between Stimac and Sharma.
What was the conversation between Igor Stimac and Bhupesh Sharma?
The messages between Stimac and Sharma that were published by the media are as follows.
- Before each match, Stimac sought inputs of the astrologer before finalising his team and shared injury updates as well as substitution strategies.
- In one early conversation, Stimac wrote: “Hi dear Bhupesh, it was a pleasure meeting you and discussing future work! I would kindly ask you to provide opinion on the following players.” He went on to share the date, time and place of birth of four players, three of whom represented India at the 2017 FIFA U-17 World Cup.
- Stimac passed on the list of 24 squad members, bearing similar details, before a friendly match against Jordan on May 28, 2022. After Sharma sent his recommendations, Stimac shared the fitness details of two players, expressing concerns about their injuries.
- In another conversation, astrologer Sharma told Stimac that it wasn’t an ‘ideal day or phase” for an attacking midfielder. Stimac then requested Sharma to compare this player’s stars with those of three other attackers. Sharma replied within minutes, with the player in question ranked third in his order of preference. That player did not start the game against Jordan and came on as a second-half substitute.
- After India’s defeat in that game on May 28, Stimac discussed individual performances of a few players, hinted at changing the squad for the Asian Cup qualifiers and commented that against a team like Jordan, “we can’t consider our physically weak players even if they are in great phase.” Sharma agreed and replied: “We can’t fight race and body types in such kind of high energy games. And Indian history in football is pathetic. Even in cricket it took a century to reach where they are today.”
- For the Asian Cup qualifiers in Kolkata from June 8 to 14, the duo decided to meet and discuss “two days prior” to each game.
- Ahead of the first qualifying match against Cambodia on June 8, Stimac shared his preferred starting 11 along with a list of reserve players. He added that three players were “coming from injuries so we would like to save them for (the) second game”.
- On June 12, a day after the second game against Afghanistan, which India struggled to win 2-1, Sharma messaged Stimac: “Do let me know how close we were in this match player analysis as per charts when you get free.”
- Stimac responded: “Everything was spot on, I will explain to you when we meet.” The following afternoon, Stimac and Sharma met to discuss India’s playing 11 for the match against Hong Kong. India won that game and qualified for the Asian Cup.
What did former AIFF general secretary Kushal Das say about hiring an astrologer?
When former AIFF general secretary Kushal Das was asked about the alleged hiring of an astrologer, Das said,
I met him at a meeting. He (Sharma) had worked for a lot of telecom companies and Bollywood personalities. What they presented was that astrological timings and the current phase of players can help motivate people into taking the right decisions.
That time, I was worried if India would qualify for the Asian Cup and so was Igor, let me be very honest. It was not a comfortable situation. For me, the most important thing was that India should qualify. So I told him (Sharma) that I will put you in touch with the coach and if he likes it, he thinks your services can be utilised, he can get back to me. Igor was very convinced and they were in Kolkata throughout.
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What did former Igor Stimac say about hiring an astrologer?
Stimac, when enquired by Indian Express on hiring an astrologer, said,
"Bhupesh was recommended to me and I was convinced (by others) that I have to check upon his possible effects in sport. No more than that. I requested another foreign assistant coach which was never even considered and was shocked to find out the size of Bhupesh’s contract."
How much money did AIFF pay to astrologer Bhupesh Sharma?
Kushal Das revealed to Indian Express that close to INR 12 to 15 lakhs was paid to Bhupesh Sharma for his services.
Since we used his professional services for two months, we paid him around Rs 12-15 lakh. That didn’t seem a huge amount since India qualified for the Asian Cup.
What next for the Indian football team?
The senior Indian football team will be next seen in action in October when they take part in the Merdeka Tournament in Malaysia. He is set to face the hosts in their first match on October 13.
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