Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh became the top trend on social media after he dropped a catch in the Super 4 match of the Asia Cup 2022 against Pakistan on Sunday.
After the catch drop, trolls targeted him for his religious identity calling him slurs and abusing him outrageously. Some of the trolls are “interestingly” the supporters of the Bhartiya Janta Party.
Arshdeep bowled the final over with only seven runs required, and bowled exceptionally well. He removed Asif Ali, but it was too late in the piece as Pakistan won with two balls remaining.
The win was set up by Mohammad Rizwan (71) and the hard-hitting Mohammad Nawaz (42) who took on the Indian bowling in the middle overs.
Following India’s loss to a strng Pakistan chase, Arshdeep bore the brunt of the angry Indian fans, when many blamed him for the loss and even went on to abuse him and his family on various social media platforms.
Arshdeep’s Wikipedia page was also defaced and the word “Khalistani” was added to it at several places.
A Twitter handle @PathakAKFanatic who commented on ANI’s tweet demanding Arshdeep be sent to Pakistan is a vocal supporter of Bhartiya Janta Party on his twitter handle.
The user is a vocal supporter of the Bhartiya Janta Party and frequently throws praises at the party.
Karnataka Welcome Modi Ji.
Double Engine ki Government ne Badhiya Work kiya hai.. #KarnatakaWelcomesModi pic.twitter.com/1GsbMGzDYD— Sandeep Pathak 💫 (@PathakAKFanatic) September 2, 2022
Twitter user Mohammed Zubair shared a screenshot of the abuses that were hurled against Arshdeep Singh after he dropped the catch, though, cricket experts say if anyone was to blame for the match loss, it was Bhuvaneshwar Kumar who consumed 19 runs in the 19th over.
One drop catch and….. 🤮🤮🤢🤢#INDvsPAK pic.twitter.com/6lhFjkQ6wf
— Mohammed Zubair (@zoo_bear) September 4, 2022
However several twitter users have come in support of Arshdeep Singh and asked people to stop trolling the cricketer for his religious identity.
A twitter user Vineet Sharma wrote, “Pls Don’t fall into the trap..no sane Indian will call him a khalistani he is a dedicated Indian cricketer and will remain one.”
Pls Don't fall into the trap..no sane Indian will call him a khalistani he is a dedicated Indian cricketer and will remain one.
— Vineet Sharma (@VineetS26407588) September 5, 2022
“It’s a pity how one loss can affect so much to the people that they decide to ridicule a 23-year-old boy, who is being called a Khalistani, has his Wikipedia page defaced and what not. Arshdeep Singh is made for great things that he will achieve in times to come. #AsiaCup2022,” Rahul Rawat, a twitter user wrote.
It’s a pity how one loss can affect so much to the people that they decide to ridicule a 23-year-old boy, who is being called a khalistani, has his Wikipedia page defaced and what not. Arshdeep Singh is made for great things that he will achieve in times to come. #AsiaCup2022
— Rahul Rawat (@rawatrahul9) September 4, 2022
Pertinently, during India’s loss to Pakistan during the World Cup T 20 encounter, Indian cricketer Mohammed Shami blamed for India’s loss and trolled brutally. His family was openly abused and he asked to go to Pakistan.