In May 2006, Indian cricket legend Sachin Tendulkar turned to Hindu religious rituals to address a period of injuries and inconsistent performance. Astrologers attributed his challenges to “sarpa dosha,” an adverse planetary alignment involving snake-related effects. To counteract this, Tendulkar and his wife, Anjali, participated in a two-day prayer ceremony at the Subramanya temple in Karnataka, dressed in traditional white silk attire.
At the time, Tendulkar was recovering from shoulder surgery following a tennis elbow treatment and had missed recent matches, including a home series against England. He was also set to miss upcoming one-day internationals in the West Indies but expressed optimism about returning for the Test series starting on June 2. Despite a dip in form—averaging just over 20 in his last 11 Tests—and facing criticism from fans, Tendulkar remained a prominent figure in cricket, holding records for the most Test and one-day centuries and ranking fourth in all-time Test runs. Notably, he had recently secured a $40 million marketing deal with Saatchi & Saatchi.