ISLAMABAD: As India triumphed over Pakistan in Sunday’s Champions Trophy match, fans across the country erupted in celebration, hailing the team’s stellar performance. However, amidst the excitement, a familiar name, Abhay Singh—better known as ‘IITian Baba’—unexpectedly trended on social media.
Singh, an aerospace engineer-turned-sadhu, had made headlines before the match with a bold claim that India had no chance of winning against Pakistan. During a podcast appearance, he confidently predicted, “India won’t win this time. Tell Virat Kohli and the team to try their best, but they won’t succeed. If I say they won’t win, they won’t win.”
After India’s commanding victory, social media platforms were flooded with memes ridiculing Singh’s inaccurate forecast. The backlash was swift, with many mocking his self-proclaimed “divine foresight.” Some even called for content creators to stop featuring him on podcasts, labeling him a “fraud.”
Among those who joined in the mockery was Prafull Billore, founder of MBA Chai Wala Group, who humorously resigned as “panauti” (unlucky charm) for the Indian cricket team, suggesting that IITian Baba could take over the title.
In the face of the trolling, Singh took to social media platform X (formerly Twitter) to issue a public apology. He shared an image of Virat Kohli and the Indian team celebrating their win, acknowledging his mistaken prediction with a message: “I want to publicly apologize and ask each one of you to celebrate. It’s party time. Mujhe mann hi mann pata tha ki India jeetega” (I knew in my heart that India would win).
