Indian cricketer Arshdeep Singh’s parents have quoted the cricketer as saying that he was “laughing” at the messages received after Sunday’s clash between Pakistan and India, adding that the incident had only “given him more confidence”, Indian media reported.

Singh has incurred the wrath of many social media users when he dropped batter Asif Ali’s catch in the closing stages of a tense India-Pakistan match during the ongoing Asia Cup.

His Wikipedia page was also edited to link him to a Sikh separatist movement, which prompted India to summon the executives of the online encyclopedia.

Speaking to The Indian Express, Singh’s parents Darshan Singh and Baljeet Kaur said they spoke to Arshdeep before boarding a flight from Dubai to Chandigarh and were relieved to hear that the cricketer had taken the criticism on the chin.

The pair had attended Sunday’s match at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium

“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 quoted his son as saying.

“Arshdeep told us that the whole Indian team is supporting him,” Baljeet told the publication.

Darshan also talked about how he felt as a parent in the current scenario.

“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,” he said.

Talking about Sunday’s match, he said Sunday’s “scapegoat” could have been from the Pakistani team if the roles were reversed.

“It could have been Fakhar Zaman because of the catch he dropped and the misfield at the end of India’s innings. Every cricketer wants to win the game for his country. No one plays to lose. Arshdeep will only get mentally stronger after this,” Darshan told the publication.

The cricketer’s mother, however, was looking at the silver lining in the whole situation.

“Those who are abusing Arsh must have high hopes from him. They are saying all these things out of emotion. When he does well, all these things will be forgotten,” the report quoted Baljeet as saying.

Emotions run high whenever India play Pakistan in what is cricket’s most passionate rivalry between the bitter neighbours.

India prevailed in the first group match between the arch-rivals on Aug 28 but Pakistan swiftly exacted revenge clinching Sunday’s thriller at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.