England’s Unexpected Knockout from the Cricket World Cup — A Bhagavad Gita Perspective

Before the World Cup began, England was among the top favorites. As the defending champions, expectations were high. And yet, throughout the tournament, England has shown consistency in just two areas: their inability to perform and their inability to explain why they are underperforming. Commentators too seem bewildered—various explanations have been offered, but none have seemed fully adequate.

Some point to the fact that their players are aging—but then, so are Australia’s. Others note their lack of one-day match experience leading up to the World Cup—but South Africa had similar limitations. Perhaps they were overconfident or reckless—but that very aggressive style is what had previously powered their dominance for several years. So why the sudden collapse?

What perspective can the Bhagavad Gita offer on an event like this? Surprisingly, a deep one. The Gita helps us make sense of life, and sports—especially cricket—can be a microcosm of life itself.

The Bhagavad Gita explains that when outcomes defy our expectations—when actions that should logically lead to success don’t yield the desired results—it’s time to step back and look at the bigger picture. The Gita teaches that results arise not just from present actions, but from a combination of present efforts and past karma—what we might call destiny.

In both life and sport, performance matters—but it isn’t the only thing that matters. A batsman may be playing excellently, yet could still get run out due to a partner’s misjudgment—something completely outside his control. What do we call that? Bad luck. But in Gita terms, it’s an interplay of karma and time.

The Gita reminds us: “You are not the sole cause of the results of your actions.” (BG 18.13–14). Take the 2019 World Cup final, for instance—England’s victory was shaped by an accidental deflection off the bat that went to the boundary, a moment that stunned the world. Fortune smiled then. This time, it hasn’t.

So how do we deal with such swings of fate? The Gita’s advice is to stay equipoised—balanced in both success and failure. Don’t become overly elated in success, and don’t be broken by failure.

Even Arjuna, the heroic archer of the Mahabharata, faced such a moment of helplessness. After the Kurukshetra war, when Krishna departed from the world, Arjuna found that his arrows—once unstoppable—were now ineffective. He was the same warrior, with the same bow, in a similar battle situation, but his power seemed gone. Likewise, the English team is largely the same, playing the same game—but something just isn’t clicking.

Of course, a cricket match and a cosmic war are vastly different in scale. But the principle holds: when logical explanations fail, we need spiritual vision. Arjuna realized that all ability ultimately comes from Krishna. When that divine favor is present, we can achieve the unimaginable. When it is withdrawn, even the most talented can falter.

So, like Arjuna, we too—and the English cricket team too—can find strength in higher wisdom. When faced with unexpected setbacks or unexplained failures, turning to the Bhagavad Gita’s teachings can help us stay steady and sane. It teaches us not just how to win—but how to grow through loss.

May those who go through such phases take shelter in this timeless wisdom, and find the resilience to persevere—whether in cricket, or in life.

Thank you.