Young Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh found himself at the receiving end of social media trolls and criticism when Pakistan defeated India by 5 wickets in a Super Four match of Asia Cup 2022 on Sunday, 4 September.
While the 23-year-old did an impressive job with the ball, conceding only 27 runs in 3.5 overs, he dropped a catch in the 18th over which many considered as the turning point of the match. Trying to hit a six off Ravi Bishnoi’s bowling, Ali skied the ball and found Arshdeep under it. The bowler from Chandigarh, however, spilled the catch.
Ali eventually played a match-defining cameo of 16 runs from 8 deliveries, and the young speedster had to bear the brunt of the fans' rage. However, many former cricketers came out in his support, urging the Indian cricket loyalists to support. The likes of Harbhajan Singh, Abhinav Mukund and Irfan Pathan put out tweets, asking the fans to stop criticizing the bowler for one blip in what has otherwise been an impressive performance.
Besides the Indian cricketers, former Pakistani cricketer Mohammad Hafeez also took to Twitter to show support to Arshdeep. "My request to all Indian team fans. In sports we make mistakes as we r human. Please don’t humiliate anyone on these mistakes," he wrote.
‘Anyone Can Make a Mistake,’ Says Kohli
Former Indian captain Virat Kohli, who scored his 32nd T20I half-century in the match against Pakistan, also came out in support of Arshdeep by saying it was a mistake, which are all but common in cricket matches.
"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," Kohli said in the post match press conference, referring to his past mistakes against Pakistan.
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