- By Aalok Sensharma
- Mon, 05 Sep 2022 11:24 AM (IST)
- Source:JND
Indian pacer Arshdeep Singh on Sunday found himself on the receiving end of the trolls after he dropped a crucial catch in a high-pressure game against arch-rivals Pakistan at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. The turbanator's dropped catch off Ravi Bishnoi's bowling came in the 18th over of the Pakistani innings which shifted the game in favour of Babar Azam's men, who eventually won by 5 wickets.
The incident left everyone furious, with some people making inappropriate comments about Arshdeep. However, the 23-year-old has found support from many experts and venterans, including former India skipper Virat Kohli, who said "anyone can commit the mistake" while admitting that the game 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.
"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."
Meanwhile, Aakash Chopra said on Koo aap: "Nobody drops a catch on purpose. The one who ends up dropping one (mistakenly)…especially in a game against Pakistan is the one who’s hurt the most. Anyone who’s having a go at young Arshdeep is doing a huge disservice to this game and exposing their own understanding or the lack of it."
Former India off-spinner Harbhajan Singh also came out in support of the young pacer and said that Arshdeep didn't drop the catch on purpose.
"Stop criticising young Arshdeep Singh. 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.
Former India all-rounder Irfan Pathan also took to Twitter to show his support for Arshdeep and said that the pacer has a "strong character". Veteran commentator Harsha Bhogle also came out in support of Arshdeep and said "he will win India a lot of matches" in the future.
"When a player is down is when you have to reach out to him so he emerges stronger. Saying nasty things about Arshdeep does nobody any good. We have all made mistakes under pressure. This is the time to back him," he tweeted.
Coming onto the match, India set a 182-run target for Pakistan, thanks to Virat Kohli's 60-run innings. However, Pakistan chased it down, with help from Mohammed Rizwan's blistering 71.
Brief Scores:
India: 181/7 (Virat Kohli 60, Rohit Sharma 28, Shadab Khan 2/31)
Pakistan: 182/5 in 19.5 overs (Mohammed Rizwan 71, Mohammad Nawaz 42, Ravi Bishnoi 1/26)
