Steve Smith finally cleared the air on Sunday, addressing the growing speculation around his equation with Sydney Sixers teammate Babar Azam after reports suggested the Pakistan star felt disrespected during their Big Bash League outing last week.On Sunday, Smith addressed the chatter around his relationship with Sydney Sixers teammate Babar Azam, after reports claimed the Pakistan star felt “disrespected” during their Big Bash League clash against Sydney Thunder last Friday. The same reports went as far as describing Babar’s reaction as a “stunning tantrum”.The issue came up live on broadcast ahead of the Sixers’ game against Brisbane Heat at the Gabba. Isa Guha put the question straight to Smith, asking, “Have you and Babar made up?”
Smith barely entertained the idea of a fallout.As the broadcast rolled footage from the team’s pre-match training session, Smith and Babar could be seen talking casually. Smith explained there was nothing tense about the exchange at all.“Nah, he’s good. We were just chatting before. I thought he batted really well the other night and we had a good partnership. We were talking about our golf there. He’s looking forward to tonight and it’s a nice wicket, so I hope we can get off to a good start again,” Smith said.So what actually happened?The moment that sparked the noise came in the 11th over at Moore Park. Babar Azam was keen to take a single, but Smith turned it down, wanting to take control during the first over of the Power Surge. Babar did not hide his disappointment.Smith, however, doubled down on the call in the most emphatic way possible. He smashed four consecutive sixes in the very next over, collecting 32 runs and shifting the momentum decisively.While Babar went on to make 47, his innings came off 39 balls at a strike rate of 120.51. Smith, at the other end, powered to a breathtaking hundred from just 41 deliveries.Babar was put back on strike in the following over, albeit hesitantly, and was dismissed off the first ball he faced. As he walked back, frustration was evident, with the former Pakistan captain striking the boundary cushion with his bat.A report from CODE Sports claimed Babar did not take the field for the post-match proceedings and instead stayed in the dressing room, feeling slighted by Smith’s decision. The report labelled the reaction an “epic dummy spit” and a “stunning tantrum”.It also stated that Sixers head coach Greg Shipperd stepped in to calm the situation, while adding that Smith had already communicated his plan to Babar an over earlier during their century partnership.Smith later offered clarity on the thinking behind the move, insisting it was entirely tactical.“We spoke at the ten-over mark and they said take the surge straightaway,” Smith told Channel 7. “I said, ‘Nah, give it one over. I want to hit to the short boundary. I don’t want to mess up the first over. I’ll try to get 30 off that over.’ I think we got 32, so it was a good result. Not sure Babar was too happy with me knocking back that single.”In the end, the bat did the talking, the scoreboard backed the decision, and any talk of lingering tension was brushed aside with a simple pre-match chat about golf.
