Sikh Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh trolled for dropping Pakistan’s Asif Ali catch

• Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh was targeted after dropping a catch against Pakistan.
• Wikipedia entry was temporarily changed to include a reference to the Khalistan Sikh separatist movement.

On Monday, Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh received a barrage of online hate after dropping a catch against Pakistan, with much of the hostility focussing on his Sikh heritage.

Singh blew an easy but critical chance in the final over of Pakistan’s dramatic Asia Cup victory over India on Sunday in Dubai, when the 23-year-old was bowling.

Singh’s Wikipedia entry was momentarily changed to include a reference to the Khalistan Sikh separatist movement, prompting the authorities to call executives from the open-source online encyclopedia.

“He is a Khalistani and has secret ties with Pakistan,” said one Twitter user.

“Arshdeep Singh has taken money as a Khalistani agent,” wrote another.

After the match, star Indian player Virat Kohli supported Singh, saying that “anyone can make a mistake”. The hashtag #IndiaWithArshdeep, supporting the young player, was trending on Twitter.

It is not the first time that religious minority in Hindu-majority India have been targeted by cricketers.

Last year, after India was hammered by Pakistan in the T20 World Cup, Muslim star Mohammed Shami became a focus of vitriol.

Thousands of hate tweets flooded social media, including Shami’s Instagram account, accusing him of being a traitor and claiming he took money to throw the game.

Kohli, at the time India captain, also vigorously backed Shami, saying: “Attacking someone over their religion is the most pathetic thing that a human being can do.”

On Sunday, India and Pakistan faced off for the second time in the ongoing Asia Cup Super Four encounter. India won the first game, and the two countries could face again in the final on Sunday.

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