Left-arm pacer Arshdeep Singh was made the scapegoat after India’s five-wicket defeat at the hands of arch-rivals Pakistan in the Super-4 clash of the Asia Cup 2022.
The 23-year-old dropped a simple catch to give Asif Ali a lifeline in the dying stages of the high-voltage match at Dubai International Cricket Stadium on Sunday (September 4).
Asif went to play a crucial cameo (16 off 8 balls) and although Arshdeep dismissed him in the final over, Pakistan overhauled the target of 182 with one ball to spare.
After the match, the Punjab lad was subjected to nasty comments on social media. The situation worsened to an extent that Khalistan entries and links were visible on his Wikipedia page.
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Interestingly, it was the first time that Arshdeep’s parents – Darshan Singh and Baljeet Kaur – watched their son play for the country from a stadium. No wonder, they are feeling bad to see their young son facing the wrath of trolls.
“As a parent, it feels really bad. He is only 23. I don’t want to say much about trolls. You can’t shut everyone’s mouth. Without fans, there is no game. There are some who stand by you no matter what and others who can’t digest a single loss. But at the end of the day, only one team can win,” Darshan told The Indian Express.
Before returning to Chandigarh after watching the match in Dubai, Darshan and Baljeet spoke to Arshdeep and he didn’t seem depleted by the outside noise.
“His exact words were, ‘I am laughing at all these tweets and messages. I am only going to take positives from it. This incident has only given me more confidence’,” Darshan said.
“Arshdeep told us that the whole Indian team is supporting him,” Baljeet said.
In the last over, Arshdeep had to defend only seven runs but he still gave India a ray of hope by trapping Asif Ali in front of the wicket on the fourth ball. However, new batter Iftikhar Ahmed hit a couple of runs on the fifth delivery to take Pakistan over the finishing line.
“If he had to defend 10-12 runs, he would have won it for India,” Darshan said.
Despite the unpleasant turn of events, Arshdeep’s parents want to return to Dubai for the final.
“If India qualifies for the final, we will be in Dubai. We want to be there if India wins the Asia Cup. Arshdeep told us that he is looking forward to contributing to an India win,” Darshan said.
He also pointed out that the scapegoat could have been from the Pakistan team had India won the match.
“It could have been Fakhar Zaman because of the catch he dropped and the misfield at the end of India’s innings. Every cricketer wants to win the game for his country. No one plays to lose. Arshdeep will only get mentally stronger after this,” Darshan said.
Arshdeep’s mother feels his son is getting abused since fans have high hopes from him.
“Those who are abusing Arsh must have high hopes from him. They are saying all these things out of emotion. When he does well, all these things will be forgotten,” Baljeet said.
(The Indian Express inputs)
