Akal Takht, SGPC condemn hateful comments against cricketer Arshdeep Singh

Arshdeep Singh then chipped in with two wickets and Ravi Bishnoi took another it looked like SRH were going to fall short of reaching 200 runs. SRH lost 5 wickets in 15 runs. Kane Williamson, still at the crease, made sure his team made 201. Target for KXIP: 202 (Image credit: IPL/BCCI/Twitter)

Akal Takht Jathedar Giani Harpreet Singh and Shiromani Gurdwara Parbandhak Committee (SGPC) chief Harjinder Singh Dhami on Tuesday condemned hateful comments against cricketer Arshdeep Singh on social media after he dropped a catch in an India-Pakistan match in Dubai. They said the cricketer has been a deliberate target of hatred.

"(Jathedar) Harpreet Singh said that this phenomenon is extremely dangerous for the world, and if a common opinion is not formed globally to strictly stop such mischievous acts of destroying the character of the follower of a faith, it is natural that there will be cracks among the humanity in future," a statement said. Akal Takht is the highest temporal seat of Sikhs. Both the Sikh laders said sports is an important medium for promoting brotherhood but targeting of sportsmen under "hateful thinking" will only create problems.

They said deliberate belittling of the performance of Arshdeep Singh and spreading false propaganda against him is a part of the process of targeting the achievements of Sikhs for the country and at the world level, the statement said. On Monday, several Punjab leaders cutting across party lines came out in support of the fast bowler, who faced brutal social media trolls for dropping the catch in the high-voltage match.

Pakistan won the Super 4 Asia Cup match on Sunday by five wickets.