The dispute between Babar Azam and Steve Smith extended from the cricket field to the dressing room; However, Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques has now given clear information on the issue and cited the difference in the cultures of the two countries as the main reason for the misunderstanding.
Pakistani cricket legend Babar Azam made his debut for Sydney Sixers in this edition of the Big Bash League and later got a great opportunity to open the innings with Australian legend Steve Smith.
Smith, on the other hand, is a true legend of the game as well as the BBL. He has played for the Sydney Sixers and has been the top scorer for them in 9 of their last 11 matches. This season of the BBL, Smith has averaged over 83 in the Big Bash and has been in some great form.
Sydney Sixers captain decodes Steve Smith and Babar Azam’s BBL controversy
A major controversy erupted when Steve Smith and Babar Azam batted in partnership for the first time against Sydney Thunder and Smith rejected Babar Azam’s call for a single on the last ball of the 11th over of the game.
Instead, Smith had some plans, as he was a heavy striker in the game and hence, wanted to keep the strike to himself with a power surge call, which symbolizes a 2 over powerplay for the batting team in BBL. Smith scored 32 runs in the 12th over of the game.
However, Babar Azam felt insulted by Smith refusing to give him a single and left the field after being dismissed on the first ball of the 13th over, looking quite disappointed. He also said in the dressing room that he was not happy with the way the Australian legend treated him.
This controversy had a major impact on the Sydney Sixers; However, Smith continued to score runs for his side. Moises Henriques has now revealed that it was just a misunderstanding between the two players who hail from different cultures.
“It took a few days to recover,” Henriques told Fox Cricket. “To be honest, it’s a bit of a misunderstanding about each other’s culture.”
“It’s a very common thing in our culture, and probably for him (Babar) he was not used to it and did not understand at all. Once it was explained to him he was absolutely fine. They kissed and made up and these two great players are friendly again.”
“[We are] Always trying to understand… We could clearly see that he was quite upset about what happened on the field, so we needed to try to understand why he felt that way. Once we got to the bottom of it, everything was fine.”
“Two great guys, friendly back again.”
Moises Henriques explains the situation between Babar Azam and Steve Smith at the SCG. #bbl15 pic.twitter.com/vcUj6m4XrD
– KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) 20 January 2026
Babar Azam scored his first duck in BBL
Babar Azam made his BBL debut and did not have the best season from a batsman’s point of view. Babar made a poor start to the tournament with single-digit scores and then broke the shackles to score his maiden BBL half-century.
Going into the crucial game in the qualifiers when it mattered most, Babar Azam was out for a duck, that too in very humiliating fashion. Cooper Connolly’s sharp stumping of Josh Inglis dismissed the experienced batsman for a duck.
Before this game, Azam had managed only 202 runs at an average of 22.44 and a strike rate of less than 105. His form has been extremely poor, and the Sixers may possibly consider dropping him for the remaining knockout matches.
Sydney Sixers pin hopes on Steve Smith to make the finals
The Sydney Sixers started winning games with dominance as Steve Smith returned to play for the franchise after the end of the Ashes series. They replaced the Hobart Hurricanes at no. 2 and qualified for the qualifiers against Perth Scorchers.
The Scorchers and Sixers are playing the qualifiers at the Optus Stadium in Perth and the winning team advances to the final and also hosts it at their home ground. The Scorchers were limited to a small score; However, the Sixers faced huge struggles in the chase.
After the disappointing performance of all the batsmen, the responsibility was on Steve Smith, who was batting brilliantly at the top of the order. However, Smith succumbed to the pressure caused by the fall of wickets at the other end and was out for 37, ending the Sixers’ hopes.
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