Asia Cup 2022: How did Arshdeep Singh's parents react to him being trolled after Pakistan's victory?

Pacer Arshdeep Singh has become the epicentre of all discussions since Sunday when Pakistan defeated India by five wickets during the Super Four stage of the ongoing Asia Cup 2022.

The 23-year-year pacer got involved in an incident that brought him under the radar of the trolls. Pakistan needed 31 runs off the last 15 balls of their 182-run chase when the youngster dropped a sitter off Ravi Bishnoi’s bowling, giving life to hard-hitting batter Asif Ali. 

This gave a lifeline to the Men in a Green as they took the game away from India’s grip in the next 13 deliveries.

Had Singh taken the catch, it would’ve been the third consecutive win for India. The young player had been the talk of the town since then.

Reacting to the criticism received by Singh, his parents — Darshan Singh and Baljeet Kaur — said the “storm over dropped catch will make him stronger.”

His parents watched him play for the first time on Sunday from the stands of the Dubai International Stadium as the Asia Cup game against Pakistan slipped away from India.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Darshan said: “As a parent, it feels really bad. He is only 23. I don’t want to say much about trolls. You can’t shut everyone’s mouth. Without fans, there is no game. There are some who stand by you no matter what and others who can’t digest a single loss. But at the end of the day, only one team can win.”

Singh’s parents “spoke to him before boarding” the Dubai-Chandigarh flight. To their relief, Singh had taken all the criticism on the chin and was upbeat. “His exact words were, ‘I am laughing at all these tweets and messages. I am only going to take positives from it. This incident has only given me more confidence’,” Darshan said.

“Arshdeep told us that the whole Indian team is supporting him,” Singh’s mother said.

His parents plan to return for the final if India qualifies. “If India qualifies for the final, we will be in Dubai. We want to be there if India wins the Asia Cup. Arshdeep told us that he is looking forward to contributing to an India win,” Darshan said.