Moises Henriques on Babar-Smith Saga: What Really Happened?

KARACHI: Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques revealed star batter Babar Azam needed "a couple of days" to get over the denied single by Australian counterpart Steve Smith during the Big Bash League (BBL) match against Sydney Thunder last week. The incident occurred on the final delivery of the 11th over when Smith declined a single offered by Azam to ensure he would be on strike for the Power Surge — a tactical phase where only two fielders are allowed outside the circle. Smith had reportedly informed the right-handed batter an over earlier that he intended to take the first ball of the surge. Azam, who was dismissed for 47 off 39 balls, appeared visibly unhappy with the decision. According to CODE Sports, he later isolated himself in the dressing room and told teammates he felt "disrespected" by Smith's refusal to rotate the strike. Meanwhile, as per the latest development, Sixers captain Henriques further revealed that the misunderstanding between the two star batters was settled after a couple of days and claimed it was a result of the cultural difference. "It took a couple of days for that to settle down," Henriques said during the Qualifier final against Perth Scorchers. "To be honest, think it's just a bit of a misunderstanding of culture of each other. "It's a pretty common thing in our culture, and maybe for him (Babar) he wasn't used to it and didn't quite understand. Once it was explained to him he was absolutely fine. They've kissed and made up and it's two of the greats back friendly again." The experienced all-rounder further shared that head coach Greg Shipperd took the lead role in talking to Babar. "[We are] always trying to understand…we could visibly see he was quite upset with what happened on the field, so we needed to try and understand why he felt that way. Once we got to the bottom of it, it was okay." It is pertinent to mention that Babar Azam, who was roped in as a direct signing by Sydney Sixers for the BBL 15, has been struggling in the ongoing tournament as he has thus far managed to accumulate 202 runs in 11 innings at a modest average of 22.44 and a dismal strike rate of 103.06.