Sydney Sixers captain Moises Henriques says it was simply a “misunderstanding” that left star recruit Babar Azam fuming at teammate Steve Smith – but confirmed the duo are “back friendly again”.
It was last Friday night that Azam reportedly shut himself away from teammates at the SCG and then refused to shake hands with Sydney Thunder rivals after his side’s BBL win.
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The Pakistani international had been knocked back for a single by fellow opener, Aussie star Steve Smith – who went on to smack 32 off the following powerplay. Azam then got out the next ball he faced.
The BBL import smacked the boundary rope in frustration in an act that was branded “not a good look” by Aussie great Mark Waugh.
But speaking on Tuesday night, Sixers skipper Henriques said the matter had been put to bed.
“It took a couple of days for that to settle down,” he shared on Fox Cricket.
“To be honest, I think it’s just a bit of a misunderstanding of culture, of each other to be honest.
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“It’s a pretty common thing in our culture and maybe you know for (Azam) he wasn’t used to it; didn’t quite understand.
“Once it was explained to him, he was absolutely fine.
“They’ve kissed and made up. Two of the greats back friendly again.”
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Henriques said he and Sixers coach Greg Shipperd were immediately concerned by Azam’s disappointment.
It was reported Azam told teammates he felt “disrespected” by Smith’s call to take strike for the powerplay over.
“Always trying to understand. What 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,” Henriques said.
“Once we got to the bottom of it, it was OK.”
Former Aussie star Mike Hussey said the ability to put the matter to bed was what made the Sixers such a powerhouse side in the BBL.
“Just goes to show with good management how you can deal with situations like that,” he praised.
“I liked what (Henriques) said – tried to get an understanding from his point of view.”
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