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Brad Hogg with Babar Azam ahead of a Big Bash League game. (PHOTO: X/BBL)
Days after Pakistani batsman Babar Azam looked visibly upset and hit the advertising boards in a Big Bash League match for being denied a single by teammate Steve Smith for Sydney Sixers, Azam has announced that he is leaving the Sydney Sixers team due to national commitments. With Pakistan facing Australia in a three-match T20 series next week, Azam has opted out of the Big Bash League. Sixers will face Hobart Hurricanes on Friday needing a win to have a chance to face Perth Scorchers in the final on Sunday.
“First of all, thank you so much Sydney Sixers for having me, all the boys, all the coaches and I have very (much) enjoyed my time. Unfortunately, I will now have to leave the team, to go to national duty. I have a lot of things I have to take back home- a lot of fun, a lot of positive things, so I have enjoyed it a lot. Especially, thank you to the Sydney Sixers fans there is always support there, lot of support, a lot of encouragement, a lot of fun, so I have very enjoyed that vibe at Sydney Cricket Ground, so thank you so much.” Azam said in a statement released on Thursday.
During the BBL Game between Sixers and Sydney Thunder last week, Azam was denied a single by teammate Steve Smith before the power surge. Azam had hit the ball to long-on and tried to run a single when Smith refused. Babar looked visibly upset before Smith smashed four sixes in the next over. Azam fell on the first ball of the next over and as he walked back, he hit the boundary rope advertising signs with his bat on his way to the dressing room.
A frustrated Babar Azam hits the boundary cushion on the way out after his dismissal. (Screengrabs: X/Big Bash League)
Former Pakistani cricketer Basit Ali had criticized the treatment given to Babar in the match. “If Virat Kohli had wanted to take this single like Babar Azam, Steve Smith ka baap bhi single leta!” Basit said. “You have brought your own value down with your game. Pakistan’s name is not sullied by this. People who say that are fools (“Bewakoof”). Babar went to play Big Bash because he was invited there, but the Pakistan cricket board didn’t send him,” Basit Ali had said on the YouTube channel ‘Game Plan’.
While Azam is the leading run-scorer in T20Is with a total of 4,429 runs, the 31-year-old only scored 202 runs in 11 matches at a strike rate of 103 in this year’s Big Bash Bash League. Azam’s strike rate has been well below Smith’s strike rate of 172 this season with the Pakistani batsman only hitting three sixes in the tournament. Azam’s strike rate has been the lowest among the batsmen scoring 200 runs or more in Big Bash League history.
Former Australian captain Mark Waugh had called for Azam to be replaced prior to Azam’s announcement. “They need to rejig their batting, because at the moment it’s almost entirely reliant on Steve Smith. At the moment there’s not a lot of players in form, so I’m bringing in either (Daniel) Hughes or (Jordan) Silk. Unfortunately, I’m going to have to drop Babar Azam, I don’t think he’s done enough at the top of the order. I know he’s world-class, but you’re thinking about winning this tournament, and so far he just hasn’t done (enough). I’m thinking about a new opener,” Waugh had told Fox Cricket on Wednesday night during the BBL match between Hobart Hurricanes and Melbourne Stars.
Sixers had signed Azam last year as a pre-draft signing for the BBL season with the Pakistani batsman being signed as the international recruit for the team prior to the overseas draft for the league. Sixers general manager Rachael Haynes termed Azam’s engagement with the fans as exceptional. “The level of fan engagement generated by Babar’s passionate supporters has been exceptional, highlighted by the Babaristan stand at the SCG, which has been a memorable feature of our home matches this season,” Haynes said in the statement.
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