Steve Smith and Sahibzada Farhan (X) A tense moment involving Steve Smith and Sahibzada Farhan grabbed attention during the Pakistan Super League 2026 clash as fans were quick to draw comparisons with the earlier controversial incident with Babar Azam. During Multan Sultans’ match against Quetta Gladiators on Sunday, Smith looked in sublime touch and looked to maintain the strike heading into the fourth over. He pushed for a single on the final ball of the third over, but Farhan refused to run, leaving the Australian visibly frustrated at the non-striker’s end. The brief exchange was enough to spark chatter online, with many recalling a similar moment from the Big Bash League earlier this year. In January 2026, while representing the Sydney Sixers in the Big Bash League, Smith single-handedly denied Babar Azam a single during the “Power Surge” phase. In this case, Smith wanted to continue the strike to maximize the shooting restrictions. Babar, who was nearing his fifty on 47 off 38 balls, looked unhappy with the call and was dismissed soon after. Smith then capitalized in dramatic fashion, smashing 32 runs in the next over, including four consecutive sixes, making it one of the most memorable overs in BBL history. While fans were quick to label Farhan’s decision as “revenge”, the two incidents were not identical. Farhan’s rejection in the PSL game seemed to be due to awareness of the match as he probably felt that the single was too risky and could have led to exhaustion. In contrast, Smith’s earlier challenge against Babar was a calculated tactical move to retain the batting during the crucial phase. Despite a brief moment of confusion, Smith went on to anchor the chase with a fluent 53 off 35 balls to guide Multan Sultans to a comfortable win over Quetta Gladiators as they chased down 167 with over two overs to play.
