Steve Smith, Sydney Sixers batter, opened up about his tiff with teammate and Pakistan batting star Babar Azam. This came after Smith refused a single to Babar Azam in the Sixers’ BBL 15 game against Sydney Thunder at the SCG on January 16.

Steve Smith led the Sixers to a massive victory chasing 190 runs. Smith denied Babar Azam a single on the final ball of the 11th over, which proved to be the turning point.

Babar drove the ball to long-on for a single, but Smith, unexpectedly, stopped the run. At the end of the over, the Australian player informed Babar that he was about to use the 'Power Surge,' a two-over period during which the fielding team is limited to only two players outside the circle.

Smith then unleashed incredible havoc, smashing four consecutive sixes before hitting a four against Ryan Hadley. The over yielded the Sydney Sixers 32 runs, the most in BBL history.  

Later Code Sports reported that the Pakistan star Babar Azam threw an ‘epic tantrum,’ complaining to teammates that he felt ‘disrespected’ by Smith’s refusal and refused to join his teammates on the field for the post-match handshakes. Even Sixers coach Greg Shipperd is said to have spoken to Azam in an attempt to defuse the situation.

Ahead of the Sydney Sixers’ match against the Brisbane Heat in Brisbane, Steve Smith talked to official broadcasters. Ex-cricketer Isha Guha took the opportunity to ask Steve Smith if he had made up with Babar Azam.

“No, he's good. We were chatting before, so, um, yeah, I thought he batted really nicely the other night. We had a good partnership. Uh, we put on a few, and, um, yeah, we were chatting about our golf earlier, so, uh, you can see that on the screen. But, um, no, look, he's, uh, he's looking forward to tonight. Looks like a nice wicket, so hopefully we can get off to a good start again,” Smith told Isa Guha.

Guha further asked Smith whether he had invited Babar to a round of golf in New York, to which Smith added, “Uh, I haven't yet, but, um, yeah, if he's over there anytime.”