‘No, he’s good’: Steve Smith breaks silence on Babar Azam tension after single denial moment in BBL - WATCH

Sydney Sixers star Steve Smith has addressed the recent on-field incident involving Pakistan captain Babar Azam during the Big Bash League (BBL) 2025-26 season, saying there is no issue between them.

During the Sixers’ clash against Brisbane Heat on Sunday, Smith was asked by commentator Isa Guha if he had “made up” with Babar after denying him a single in a previous match that resulted in the Pakistani batter getting angry.

“No, he’s good. We were chatting before, so, yeah, I thought he batted really nicely the other night. We had a good partnership. We put on a few, and yeah, we were chatting about our golf earlier. Look, he’s looking forward to tonight. Looks like a nice wicket, so hopefully we can get off to a good start again,” Smith said.

"Have you and Babar made up?"

Steve Smith's response 👇 ⛳ #BBL15 pic.twitter.com/I4Gb8Y8ISM

— KFC Big Bash League (@BBL) January 18, 2026

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What happened in the Sydney derby?

The incident occurred during the Friday night BBL match between Sydney Sixers and Sydney Thunder at the SCG. After a century-run stand with Babar, Smith chose to retain the strike during a key Power Surge, which angered the former Pakistan captain. At the time, Babar was on 47 off 38 balls and had just faced three dot balls from Chris Green.

The tactical move paid off handsomely. Smith smashed four consecutive sixes in the first over of the Power Surge, recording 32 runs, the most expensive over in BBL history. He eventually gave Babar the strike in the 13th over, but Babar was dismissed on the first ball. Babar looked visibly frustrated as he walked off.

After the match, Smith explained his reasoning, “We spoke at the ten-over mark, and the captain and coach said take the surge straightaway. I said, ‘Nah, give it one over. I want to hit to the short boundary. I don’t want to screw 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."

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Smith finished with a 41-ball century, leading the Sixers to a five-wicket win in the match. Meanwhile, Babar has been dismissed for just 1 run in their ongoing match against Brisbane Heat, chasing a target of 172. Smith is is batting in the middle.