New Delhi: A torrent of online abuse hit Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh onMonday after he dropped a catch against Pakistan, with much of the vitriolfocusing on the fact that he is from the Sikh minority.
Singh missed the easy but crucial chance in the closing stages of the archrivals’ dramatic Asia Cup clash on Sunday won by Pakistan in Dubai in thefinal over — when the 23-year-old was the bowler.
Singh’s Wikipedia entry was briefly altered to link him to the KhalistanSikh separatist movement, reportedly prompting the government to summonexecutives from the open-edit online encyclopedia.
“He is a Khalistani and has secret ties with Pakistan,” said one Twitteruser. “Arshdeep Singh has taken money as a Khalistani agent,” wroteanother.
Read Top Stories
After the match, star Indian player Virat Kohli backed Singh, saying that”anyone can make a mistake”. The hashtag #IndiaWithArshdeep, supporting theyoung player, was trending on Twitter.
It is not the first time that cricketers from Hindu-majority India’sreligious minorities have faced such attacks.
