Former and present Indian cricketers, as well as Punjab political heavyweights come out in favour of Arshdeep Singh
On Sunday, India suffered their first defeat of the Asia Cup 2022, falling to Pakistan in their opening Super 4 stage encounter at the Dubai International Stadium in Dubai. Many Indian supporters were disappointed with their team’s performance, with many blaming Arshdeep Singh.
Arshdeep Singh’s fumbled catch of Pakistani batsman Asif Ali in the 18th over proved decisive in Sunday’s match between India and Pakistan.
Babar Azam urged India to bat first after flipping a coin. Virat Kohli’s incredible 60 off 44 balls sustained the Indian team’s momentum, aided to the efforts of Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul.
India set a high target of 182 runs. Pakistan’s comeback did not get off to the greatest of beginnings due to the early loss of Azam. Mohammad Nawaz’s 42 runs off 20 balls provided excellent assistance for Mohammad Rizwan’s great batting performance.
The match’s fate was altered, however, when Pakistan’s opener was removed, giving India the advantage heading into the final few overs. Arshdeep Singh, on the other hand, lost a straightforward catch that may have allowed Asif Ali to return to the pavilion. Finally, Ali ensured that Pakistan made it home with one ball remaining, which came this back to haunt India.
The Indian bowler faced harsh criticism on social media for his blunder. Former cricketers Irfan Pathan, Mohammad Hafeez, and Harbhajan Singh are now defending Arshdeep.
“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”, Harbajan wrote.
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 Turbanator (@harbhajan_singh) September 4, 2022
Raghav Chadha, Rajya Sabha MP and head of the state advisory body for the AAP, said the hatred directed towards Arshdeep was deplorable.
The kind of hate 23 year old Arshdeep is being subjected to is appalling. Let us cut that young man some slack. Arshdeep is an amazing talent and will lead the Indian bowling attack in the coming years. No hate can pull him down. #IStandWithArshdeep pic.twitter.com/CL1o4oVSLD
— Raghav Chadha (@raghav_chadha) September 5, 2022
Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer, the state’s Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs, said Arshdeep was a player with a lot of promise, and a lot was expected of him in the coming days.
Victory or defeat is given in game. @arshdeepsinghh is upcoming star who carved out niche in short span. Performed excellent against Pakistan. Regressive psyche to troll him on drop of just a catch. Arshdeep is future of Nation. Inspiration for youth. Hate has no place in sports.
— Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer (@meet_hayer) September 5, 2022
Harpal Cheema, Cabinet Minister, also praised the player, saying, “In high pressure situations, errors happen all the time.” We are after all, all but Human.
In high pressure situations, mistakes happen all the time. After all we are all but Human. Nobody has the right to criticise or question our young player @arshdeepsinghh. Team India put its best foot forward and they have my best wishes for the matches ahead. #TeamIndia
— Adv Harpal Singh Cheema (@HarpalCheemaMLA) September 5, 2022
Hafeez rallied around the Indian bowler, begging with the home fans not to heckle the 23-year-old. “This is a plea to all Indian team supporters. We all make blunders in sports.”
My request to all Indian team fans. In sports we make mistakes as we r human. Please don’t humiliate anyone on these mistakes. @arshdeepsinghh
— Mohammad Hafeez (@MHafeez22) September 4, 2022
Mukund also volunteered his support. After dropping Australia’s Steve Smith in a Test at Pune, he was “totally inconsolable for hours” in his hotel room. Mukund dropped Smith at short-leg with Smith on 37 and who went on to score the match-winning hundred.
After dropping steve smith in the pune test, i was absolutely inconsolable for hours alone in my room. I really hope @arshdeepsinghh doesnt feel that way. He will be more gutted than anyone else in our country tonight. Lets cut him some slack! #INDvsPAK
— Abhinav Mukund (@mukundabhinav) September 4, 2022
Irfan Pathan, a former India bowler, tweeted: “Arshdeep is a powerful character.” “Keep it up, boy.”
Arshdeep is a strong character. Stay that way boy. @arshdeepsinghh
— Irfan Pathan (@IrfanPathan) September 4, 2022
After the match this is what Virat had to say about Arshdeep: “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,” Kohli said after the game.
“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. Senior players get around you, there is a good team environment right now, I give the credit to the captain and coach.
“The players learn from their mistakes. So, one must accept his mistake, address it and look forward to being in that pressure situation once again,” he added
