Arshdeep Singh's Wikipedia page vandalised after dropped catch, govt steps in

Young pacer Arshdeep Singh, who dropped an easy catch in the final overs and made the run chase easier for Pakistan in their Super 4 match against India, had his Wikipedia page vandalised by miscreants on Monday.

The edit history of the page shows that an unregistered user replaced the words "India" with "Khalistan" at several places on his profile and his name was changed to "Major Arshdeep Singh Bajwa". The changes were reversed within 15 minutes by Wikipedia editors.


The slanderous linking of him to the Khalistani movement was said to have been done by elements in Pakistan, PTI reported.

The government slammed Wikipedia for publishing the false information, and said such incitement cannot be permitted.

"No intermediary operating in India can permit this type of misinformation (a)n(d) deliberate efforts to incitement (a)n(d) user harm - violates our govts expectations of safe and trusted internet," Minister of State for IT, Rajeev Chandrasekhar, posted to Twitter.

Some reports said Meity ( Ministry of Electronics and IT) summoned Wikipedia executives, but PTI said officials denied any such move.

The government had last year notified new IT rules to make digital intermediaries more accountable. The rules required social media companies to take down contentious content quicker, appoint grievance redressal officers and assist in investigations.

Arshdeep dropped a dolly catch of Pakistan's Asif Ali in the 18th over when both the sides were more or less evenly placed. Asif then went on to slam 16 runs in half a dozen balls , thereby shifting the momentum in favour of Pakistan.

Arshdeep, who bowled the final over, did dismiss Asif, but could not stop Pakistan from notching up the seven runs needed for a win in the Super 4 match of Asia Cup 2022.

Several cricketers and politicians later backed Arshdeep Singh, saying anyone can make a mistake in a high-pressure game like that.