On Friday, January 16, Steve Smith disallowed Babar Azam a single during the Big Bash League’s (BBL) Sydney derby. The former wished to maintain the strike for the Power Surge. This decision by the former Australian captain has sparked outrage in the cricket community.
Babar Azam was batting in the 40s in the 11th over, with a strike rate of around 120. Smith denied him a single, which upset the former Pakistan captain.
The move, however, paid off as Smith scored 32 runs in the next over, taking advantage of the Power Surge’s field constraints. Babar got the strike in the 13th over, but he was out on the first ball. He even whacked the boundary cushion with his bat to vent his fury.
During a conversation on Basit Ali’s YouTube channel, Kamran Akmal said that Smith humiliated Babar by declining the song. The former wicketkeeper argued that even if Smith did not want to take the run, he could have warned Babar beforehand. Akmal even advised that the Sydney Sixers drop the talismanic Pakistani batter if they aren’t confident in his ability.
“This shouldn’t have happened. I understand Smith hit a fast hundred. He could have told Babar before that the ball ‘Don’t take a single’. Not like this. This is a disrespect. If Sydney Sixers aren’t happy with Babar, drop him. Don’t disrespect him like this. Make him sit out, only… But don’t do this,” Akmal said.
However, Ali said that Smith’s plan worked in the following over, as he took Ryan Hadley to the cleaners. The cricketer-turned-expert mentioned that Smith refused the single due to Babar’s prior image, adding that he would have never dared to do the same thing if he were batting alongside Virat Kohli.
“Smith proved it next over. At one point, I thought he would hit 6 sixes in that over. He answered it, na? If Virat Kohli had wanted to take this single like Babar Azam, Steve Smith ka baap bhi single leta! (even Smith’s father would have accepted it.” Basit said. “You have brought your own value down with your game. Pakistan’s name is not sullied by this. People who say that are fools. Babar went to play Big Bash because he was invited there, but the Pakistan cricket board didn’t send him,” Basit Ali said.
Babar’s strike rate in T20s has been abysmal so far. In BBL 2025-26, the right-handed batter has 201 runs under his belt from nine matches at a strike-rate of 107.48.
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