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.

Earlier, the BJP standing by the young cricketer, said, "Arshdeep Singh India's pride, every Indian stands with him."

"(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 leaders 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.