‘If you are brave enough…’ – Shami blasts ‘jobless’ trolls slamming Arshdeep after Indo-Pak showdown

Arshdeep Singh was mercilessly trolled after dropping a sitter during Pakistan’s riveting run-chase versus India when both sides locked horns in the Super Four round at the Asia Cup 2022 edition on Sunday evening (September 04) at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium. Being asked to bat first, India posted a competitive 181/7 — thanks to Virat Kohli’s 44-ball 60 — and came back into the contest after dismissing Mohammad Rizwan (71) and Mohammad Nawaz (20-ball 42) in the end overs before pacer Arshdeep’s dropped catch gave a reprieve to Asif Ali. The right-hander fell to the speedster in the final over but slammed a fine 8-ball 16 and finished proceedings, with Khusdil Shah’s 11-ball 14*, for the Men in Green with five wickets in hand.

After the encounter, many have come hard at the 23-year-old Arshdeep, who still returned with a fine spell (3.5-0-27-0) and pushed the game till the penultimate ball despite the dropped catch. Now, senior pacer Mohammad Shami — who was also trolled online following his 3.5-0-43-0 spell versus Babar Azam & Co. in the 2021 T20 World Cup — has lashed out at trolls and called them ‘jobless’. Further, he has backed Arshdeep to move ahead from his setback and bounce back in style.

In an exclusive interview with Times Now, Shami didn’t mince his words and said, “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 added.

The 32-year-old Shami backed Arshdeep to shine in the future and asserted further, “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.”

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Given that Shami was also subject to massive trolling on religious lines, following India’s heavy ten-wicket loss to Pakistan in last year’s T20 WC face-off, he can certainly relate to Arshdeep’s situation at present. The Punjab Kings’ (PBKS) pacer remained calm and bowled a decent last over despite giving a reprieve to Asif Ali and will take a lot of learnings from the Pakistan clash.

After the match, former skipper Virat also extended his support to Arshdeep and said, “Anyone can commit mistakes under pressure. It was a big game, and the situation was a bit tight. I remember when I was playing my first Champions Trophy game against Pakistan, and I played a very poor shot off Shahid Afridi’s bowling. I kept looking at the ceiling till 5 in the morning. I was up all night and couldn’t sleep. I thought it would be the end of my career and never get another chance.”

He added, “That’s a natural feeling. But there are senior players around you. We’ll come together again for the next game. So, it’s all about learning in a good environment and when a similar situation arrives again, you look forward to it and be ready.”