India spinner Ravichandran Ashwin feels young left-arm pace bowler Arshdeep Singh might be in “emotional turmoil" after he was trolled relentlessly following him dropping a catch in the Asia Cup Super-Four match against arch-rival Pakistan in Dubai recently.
Fans took to social media to vent their ire against Arshdeep recently, when he dropped the catch with Pakistan needing 34 runs to win in two overs.
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In the 18th over of the Super Four game, with Pakistan needing 34 runs, Asif Ali tried to sweep Ravi Bishnoi and it seemed like he would be returning to the pavilion. However, the 23-year-old Arshdeep dropped the straightforward chance and Ali survived to bring back the game in Pakistan’s favour. The India pacer then received a lot of criticism from netizens.
Virat Kohli later defended the young pacer, saying anyone could have made such a mistake during a high-pressure game.
Ashwin, who is in India’s 15-member squad for the ICC T20 World Cup in Australia next month, took to his YouTube channel to express his displeasure at the trolls, saying the youngster had the courage to bowl a superb last over of the innings despite the setback of the dropped catch.
“Arshdeep gave a terrific closeout against Pakistan. He bowled extraordinarily well in the last over against Pakistan in that tight finish. Despite dropping that catch, how well he came back and bowled the last over in that game. What composure! Both against Sri Lanka and Pakistan. So, a big kudos to that boy.
“I have followed him from the U-17 and U-19 days and I have played with him for Kings XI Punjab (Punjab Kings). He is an outstanding person. He is a cricketer who has a superb work ethic. I am sure this kid will go places. I don’t have any doubts about that," said Ashwin on his channel.
“So, we will get to the outrage that we saw on social media about his dropped catch against Pakistan. Yes, anybody in the public eye will get criticism, agreed. It is a part and parcel of our life. We will accept it and move forward. But getting personal is not the greatest of feelings. He (Arshdeep) is representing all of us when he is on the field, right?
“Sometimes, we have to put ourselves in that situation as a commoner, be it someone working in an IT industry, or someone working in a factory. We are tweeting out of emotion as soon as he drops a catch, scolding him. Let’s admit it’s an expression of our emotions.
“If we are in Arshdeep’s shoes and drop that catch, what will we expect? We will expect nothing but a bit of empathy, right?. ‘It’s Ok. Well done, it was a great effort. Take the next catch’… that’s what we all expect, right? If it was a kid, an elderly person from our house, our partner, or our brother or sister, we will expect that only," added Ashwin.
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Ashwin added that, of course, it was a big match but fans on social media should act sensibly.
“I know it was against Pakistan and that it came at a crucial stage. But why have a go at someone relentlessly and put them in an emotional turmoil? Yes, it’s an era of modern-day social media, I get it. But still it is our responsibility to act sensibly in these situations. Just like we have the right to express our thoughts, we should also coin those thoughts carefully in such a way that we should be ready to face the consequences after we express those thoughts."
He added that had Arshdeep read those trolls, it could leave a lasting scar on the cricketer’s mind.
“Abusing someone is completely wrong, guys. Imagine Arshdeep reading those trolls. Imagine the toll it will have on the youngster. Imagine the effect it will have on him and his family," added Ashwin.
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