Former and current Indian cricketers came out in support of young seamer Arshdeep Singh after the youngster dropped an easy catch in the 18th over of Pakistan’s chase in the Asia Cup 2022 on Sunday, 4 September.
The India-Pakistan Super 4 clash on Sunday lived up to its hype with the men in green registering a thrilling five-wicket win over their neighbours at the Dubai International Stadium. However, it was Arshdeep’s dropped catch in the final moments of the game that became the talking point.
The 23-year-old dropped Asif Ali at naught in the 18th over off Ravi Bishnoi’s bowling to offer both the batter and Pakistan a new life in the tense encounter.
Following the dropped catch, Arshdeep was subjected to a barrage of criticism and trolls on social media, with a section of fans blaming him for the defeat.
Ali then went on to score a vital 16 off eight balls that helped Pakistan reach closer to the 182-target set by India before Arshdeep trapped him leg before in the final over of their chase.
Arshdeep, who came in to bowl the final over failed to defend seven runs despite getting Ali's wicket as Pakistan romped home to victory. Following the defeat, the seamer from Punjab received a lot of backlash on social media and former spinner Harbhajan was quick to come to his aid.
“Stop criticising young @arshdeepsinghh No one drop the catch purposely..we are proud of our boys .. Pakistan played better.. shame on such people who r putting our own guys down by saying cheap things on this platform bout arsh and team.. Arsh is GOLD,” Harbhajan tweeted.
Virat Kohli, Former Cricketers Offer Support
When Virat Kohli was asked about the dropped catch in the post-match press conference, he came out in support of the bowler by saying "Anyone can make the mistake, the situation was tight. It was a high-pressure game and mistakes can happen. I still remember I was playing my first Champions Trophy and the match was against Pakistan, I had played a very bad shot against Shahid Afridi. I was watching the ceiling till 5 am, I was not able to sleep and I thought my career is over but these things are natural."
Meanwhile, former Indian cricketers Abhinav Mukund, and Irfan Pathan, also offered their support to Arshdeep.
Mukund recalled his own experience from the past while playing for India and urged people to give him some time to reflect on what happened.
“After dropping steve smith in the pune test, i was absolutely inconsolable for hours alone in my room. I really hope @arshdeepsinghh doesn't feel that way. He will be more gutted than anyone else in our country tonight. Lets cut him some slack! #INDvsPAK,” Mukund posted.
Pathan, on the other hand, tweeted, “Arshdeep is a strong character. Stay that way boy. @arshdeepsinghh.”
A new entrant into India’s T20 setup, Arshdeep has featured only nine times for the men in blue and is yet to make his ODI debut. The left-arm seamer had made his white-ball debut in the shortest format against England earlier in July and has 13 wickets under his belt.
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