The Centre has summoned executives of Wikipedia after a cricketer's page on the online encyclopedia was edited following a match with rival Pakistan to claim that he was linked to a Sikh separatist movement, a government source said on Monday.

Cricketer Arshdeep Singh incurred the wrath of some social media users after he dropped a simple catch in the closing stages of a tense India-Pakistan match on Sunday.

Singh's Wikipedia page on Sunday was edited to say the Sikh cricketer, born in Punjab, had been selected to play for Khalistan, referring to an independent Sikh state sought by some groups but which does not exist.

The wrongful edits were "removed within minutes" by Wikipedia's volunteer community, a spokesperson for Wikimedia Foundation, which runs Wikipedia, said in a statement. Editing access to the article has been restricted to trusted users since, they added.

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A senior government source said the IT Ministry has summoned Wikipedia executives over the incident, without elaborating. The Ministry did not respond to a request for comment.

Wikipedia's articles, written primarily by unpaid volunteers, are relied on by platforms from Google to Amazon Alexa to give their users information and context.

"Wikimedia Foundation generally does not set editorial policy on Wikipedia. That is, we don't write, edit, or determine what content is included on Wikipedia or how that content is maintained," Wikimedia's statement said.

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 August 28 but Pakistan swiftly exacted revenge clinching Sunday's thriller at the Dubai International Cricket Stadium.

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