‘Arshdeep is a pro Khalistani’ – Fans on Twitter slur Arshdeep Singh for his drop catch against Pakistan

India had a great outing against Pakistan in the group stage of the Asia Cup 2022. The Men in Blue faced Pakistan yet again in their first outing in the Super 4 round. It was a high-pressure match and the two teams looked set to clash off on a Sunday night in the midst of a jam-packed stadium. Arshdeep Singh ended up facing the heat post-match for his drop catch.

Not what India would have wanted as Babar Azam called it right in the toss and elected to field first. The Indian batters put on a good show and reached a total of 181 on the back of Virat Kohli’s decent 60. The openers Rohit Sharma and KL Rahul did their part in the powerplay while Hardik Pandya bagged a duck. The Pakistani batters had the intent to chase the target down on a testing surface.

The match looked equally poised through the mid-way in the second innings. With every passing ball, fans changed their loyalties while predicting the winner. It was such a great match that even the match-predictor stumbled at one point. Asif Ali faced a ball from Ravi Bishnoi and mistimed it. The ball went high up in the air and bounced off Arshdeep Singh’s hands. Commentators thought that the youngster took the catch lightly and let the match slip away.

Fans angry with Arshdeep Singh

That turned out to be the deciding moment of the match and the Indian skipper vent out his frustration at the young bowler right away. Fans got mad at the bowler and started calling him a ‘Khalistani’ only out of frustration. Many former cricketers came in support of the bowler and said that the left-armer must be backed.

Former Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh called him ‘a gold’ and said that the bowler must not be attacked. Mohammad Hafeez, the former Pakistani cricketer did not think twice before coming in support of the bowler. However, millions of fans came up with hashtags supporting the young bowler and felt proud of him for being an Indian. India will next face Sri Lanka in the Super 4 round of the Asia Cup on Tuesday (September 6).

Here are some of the reactions from fans post his catch drop:

https://twitter.com/TurgotandNecker/status/1566487862681473030?s=20&t=DlAiGsSiSttxl7vo-byfPg

https://twitter.com/Medium_Pacer18/status/1566487929685323777?s=20&t=DlAiGsSiSttxl7vo-byfPg

Bhuvaneshvar Kumar can give away 19 runs for fun. No questions raised. But arshdeep is khalistani for dropping that catch

— Abhishek ︎ (@ImAbhishek7_) September 4, 2022

It's time to declare arshdeep KHALISTANI pic.twitter.com/zr8cHWbIhV

— Hasnain Younas (@HasnainYounas25) September 4, 2022

#IStandWithArshdeep
23 year old Arshdeep Singh is being labelled as a Khalistani just because he dropped a catch. Check his numbers, he had a better outing than all others. He is a superstar and the country is proud of him. #IStandWithArshdeep

— Er. Navin Kumar Singh (@navinksingh29) September 5, 2022

If M.shami is " Deshdrohi" Arshdeep singh is "Khalistani"What will you call this man bhuvi for his second last over? In which he gave 19 runs which was the turning point! pic.twitter.com/k4Z2x0J9ej

— Shan Ali Panhyar (@ShanAliPanhyar) September 5, 2022

Arshdeep being called Khalistani just becoz he dropped a catch in today's match.

Now imagine if the catch was dropped by Avesh Khan.#INDvsPAK

— norman۔ نومان (@noomy_khan89) September 5, 2022

https://twitter.com/GOATbelike_/status/1566625525065728000?s=20&t=DlAiGsSiSttxl7vo-byfPg

Please don't call arshdeep singh a khalistani
In last over he try to give its best
#khalistani

— Yash Pandey (@YashPan58118654) September 5, 2022

https://twitter.com/PakNarrative247/status/1566488305864261632?s=20&t=DlAiGsSiSttxl7vo-byfPg