New Delhi: Indian football team coach Igor Stimac picked the national squad for the crucial Asian Cup qualifier against Afghanistan in June, 2022, on the advice of an astrologer from Delhi-NCR, said a report.

As per a report in the Indian Express, the astrologer was introduced to Stimac by the former All India Football Federation (AIFF) secretary-general Kushal Das.

Das has admitted that he introduced the two to each other in May, 2022.

“Stimac had sent a list with the names of a probable 11 for the game, which was a must-win to remain in contention for the championship. The match was to take place on June 11, and the list was shared on June 9.

“The astrologer replied against each player's name with remarks like "Good", "can do very well. Needs to avoid overconfidence", " a below average day", "a very good day for him but might get over aggressive" and "not recommended for the day", it said.

India played four matches during May and June, 2022. These were against Jordan, Cambodia, Afghanistan and Hong Kong.

The report further said that Stimac shared the list of players with the astrologer before every match. He also shared injury updates and substitution strategies. 

TAGS