Pakistan took revenge for their earlier loss to India with a comprehensive five-wicket win over their arch-rivals on Sunday, September 4. The two sides had earlier faced off on August 28, 2022, in their respective opening game of the Asia Cup, and on that occasion, Pakistan lost by five wickets.
In what was yet another closely fought affair between the two teams, one dropped catch might have been the turning point of the game. Young pacer Arshdeep Singh was tasked with catching a loose shot off Asif Ali's batting in the 18th over. It was off Ravi Bishnoi's bowling and would have turned the topsy-turvy match in India's favour but Arshdeep was unable to judge the flight as the ball slipped out of his hand and gave Asif a lifeline, which he used to win his team the all-important Super 4s game.
Following the match, Arshdeep was, unfortunately, the victim of vicious trolling and abuse on social media because of his unforced error. Many Indian cricketers including senior batter and ex-skipper Virat Kohli have come out in support of the left-arm pacer. And the latest to join in solidarity is veteran Indian pacer Mohammed Shami.
In an interview with Times Now, Shami opened up about such trolls and said that these people only emerge when the players do not perform and hide behind their fake accounts. "They only live to troll us, have no other job. When we perform well they don’t say you took a good catch but will troll us?" said Shami. "Agar dam hai toh real accounts se aaye na, fake account se toh koi bhi msg kar sakta hai (If you have the audacity, then comes from real accounts; anyone can message from fake accounts,)” he said.
Shami, who had to face such trolling during the 2021 T20 World Cup, said that despite such acts, his countrymen and women have always stood by him. He backed Arshdeep to shine in the future. "I’ve faced this and it doesn’t affect me because my country stands up for me. I’ll only say to Arshdeep, don’t let this hamper you because your talent is immense," Shami stated.
