Sunday didn’t go as planned for Indian cricket team supporters as India lost the T20 Asia Cup match to Pakistan by a very close margin. Evidently, the team gave their heart and soul and did everything in their capacity to win the match. But Pakistan came out victorious.
And blindly ignoring all the earlier records, wins, and accolades bowler Arshdeep Singh brought to the country, furious cricketing fans blamed him for being the catalyst of India’s loss after he dropped a crucial catch of Asif Ali in the 18th over at the Dubai International Stadium.
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From calling him names to labeling him a traitor and trolling him left, right and center, the Indian bowler faced incessant criticism online.
But as people spread hatred against him online, there were many known celebs who held his hand and proudly protected him from mindless scrutiny. Taking to Instagram, actor Ayushmann Khurrana shared a reel and penned that even though it was heartbreaking to see India lose, there’s always a silver lining.
“It’s been almost 24 hours but can’t get over last night’s nerves. There’s always a heartbreak when India loses a match. But let’s look at the silver lining. Kohli is in form now! SKY is looking good.
Also our openers. Let’s not be fickle and fair weather. We should support our team even when they lose a close one.”
“And for God’s sake, stop trolling Arshdeep. He’s a great prospect. Expecting fireworks in the rest of the tournament. Praying for the next clash.”
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From Harbhajan Singh to Virat Kohli, there are others who came in support of Arsh.
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
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
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
We love you and we are proud of you @arshdeepsinghh ! Stand strong! 💛🇮🇳
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) September 4, 2022
Truly tragic the way @arshdeepsinghh has been trolled.
And it appears to be the handiwork of another IT cell.💁🏻♀️
Don’t fall for it.P.S. The misfortune of devious propaganda is, others can do it too. And it works like a dog whistle, with the intended recipients unaware.
— Gul Panag (@GulPanag) September 5, 2022
If you can’t ride out the losses of those you claim as your own you have no right,moral or otherwise to claim their wins. Society cannot cannibalise success and conveniently discard failures of the ones that dare to go out into the world,compete/perform & take great risks 🙏
— Pooja Bhatt (@PoojaB1972) September 5, 2022
In Arsh’s defense, acclaimed Indian cricketer Virat Kohli said, “Anyone can make the mistake, the situation was tight. It was a high-pressure game and mistakes can happen,” Economic Times quoted him saying.
“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.”
“Seniors 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,” said Kohli.
Winning and losing are part of the game. But talking ill about the players who have already won several accolades for the country isn’t in good taste. Let’s get over Arsh and focus on the next Super 4 stage fixture wherein India faces Sri Lanka today in Dubai.