Why It Felt Insulting (But Wasn’t)
Babar Azam isn’t just a batter — he’s an institution in Pakistan cricket.
In bilateral formats, teams are structured around him.
Franchise leagues don’t work that way.
In the Sydney Sixers setup:
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No player is bigger than a 6-ball window
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No résumé outweighs a boundary matchup
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No emotion overrides strike-rate math
The discomfort wasn’t caused by Smith’s act.
It was caused by what the act revealed.
Open-Market Cricket Is Brutally Honest
This incident echoed another uncomfortable moment days earlier:
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Mohammad Rizwan was retired out mid-innings in the BBL
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First overseas player to face that call
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Same justification: tempo mismatch
Together, these moments point to one reality:
Open-market leagues don’t judge who you are.
They judge what you deliver per ball.
That’s not anti-Pakistan.
That’s anti-sentiment.
The Numbers Don’t Lie (And They Don’t Care)
Across elite T20 leagues:
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Winning teams average strike rates above 140
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Power-phase specialists dominate contracts
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Anchors must accelerate violently or get bypassed
In this BBL season:
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Babar SR: ~107–121 range
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Rizwan SR: ~101
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League median for finishers: 140+
This gap explains decisions more clearly than any tweet ever will.
