Henriques confirms Babar Azam needed days to move on

Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques has revealed that Pakistan captain Babar Azam was visibly upset and needed several days to recover after a moment of tension with Steve Smith during the Big Bash League (BBL) 15.

The incident occurred on 18 January during the Sixers’ must-win clash against Brisbane Heat. Babar attempted to take a single off the last ball of the 11th over, but Smith opted not to run, eager to capitalize on the Power Surge over.

Smith then went on to score a record 32 runs in the following over, including four consecutive sixes.

Babar was dismissed in the next over and displayed his frustration by striking the boundary cushion with his bat as he returned to the pavilion.

He remained in the dressing room for the rest of the game and did not join his teammates on the outfield afterward.

Speaking ahead of the Sixers’ qualifier against Perth Scorchers, Henriques said the incident took time to settle.

 “It took a couple of days for that to settle down,” he told Fox Cricket. “It’s just a bit of a misunderstanding of each other’s culture.”

Henriques explained that such on-field decisions are common in Australian cricket culture and that Babar initially struggled to relate to it.

“Once it was explained to him, he was absolutely fine. They’ve kissed and made up,” Henriques added.

Both Henriques and Sixers coach Greg Shipperd spoke to Babar to help him move past the incident.

“We could visibly see he was upset with 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, it was okay,” Henriques said.

Babar has had a challenging BBL season, scoring 202 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 103.06, and his struggles continued in the qualifier, where he was dismissed for a two-ball duck during the Sixers’ chase of 148 against the Scorchers.