![Sahibzada Farhan turns down Steve Smith [Source: Screengrab, AFP]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1775461139593_SahibzadaFarhanturnsdownSteveSmith.jpg?type=hq)
Sahibzada Farhan turns down Steve Smith [Source: Screengrab, AFP]
Sahibzada Farhan and his opening partner Steve Smith set up path of a comprehensive Multan Sultans win over Quetta Gladiators in match number 13 of the PSL 2026 season.
The two attacking openers started off the Multan Sultans chase with a 71-run partnership in just five overs, before Shan Masood anchored the team past the Gladiators with 2.3 overs to spare.
Through the course of Farhan’s blistering opening partnership with Smith, the Pakistani opener also seemingly denied the Australian a single.
While it appeared to be a rather regulatory turn-down in the flow of the game, some Pakistan fans are perceiving it to be Farhan’s form of revenge against Steve Smith for turning down Babar Azam for a single earlier this year during the BBL 2025-26 season.
Sahibzada Farhan turns down Steve Smith’s single
Multan Sultans got off to a flyer against Quetta Gladiators in a chase of 167 runs in match 13 of the PSL 2026 season. At one stage, opening batter Steve Smith raced to 35* off just 12 deliveries during the third over of the innings.
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In the final ball of the over, Smith attempted to play Gladiators paceman Tom Curran across the line, only for the ball to hit his pad off an inside edge.
The senior Australian batter attempted to retain the strike by taking a single, but his partner Sahibzada Farhan fittingly turned him down.
Through the course of Farhan’s action, the Pakistani opener might have taken a revenge against Smith, considering the latter had apparently ‘disrespected’ his national teammate Babar Azam with a similar gesture in the BBL 2025-26 season earlier this year.
When Steve Smith left Babar Azam humiliated in BBL 2025-26
Earlier this year in match number 37 of the BBL 2025-26 season, Sydney Sixers opener Steve Smith and Babar Azam crafted 141 runs in just 12 overs in a monumental chase of 190.
However, Babar contributed with just 47 runs from 39 balls in the partnership, and played quite a number of dot balls as he maintained a below-par strike rate of 120.51 in the innings.
Even in the 11th over of the innings, Babar Azam faced three dot deliveries in a row, before his attempted single off the final ball was turned down by his senior partner.
While Smith’s decision seemingly irked Babar, the legendary Australian batter responded back by launching four consecutive sixes and a boundary off Ryan Hadley in the following over, before slapping a 41-ball century.
Moreover, the Pakistan great got knocked over by Nathan McAndrew off his very next delivery of the innings to walk back to the sheds with a sluggish 47 off 39 to his name.
Did Sahibzada Farhan really took revenge for Babar?
Even though Sahibzada Farhan turned down Steve Smith for a single in the final ball of an over of a PSL 2026 match, his intent seemed rather tactical and situational than driven by any personal vendetta.
Moreover, unlike Babar’s case, Smith was going ‘beast mode’ even in his PSL outing, before Farhan joined in the fun and set up path of a comprehensive Multan Sultans win through their blistering opening partnership.
Chasing 167, the Australian run-machine himself top-scored in the innings through his attacking 35-ball 53 as Multan Sultans blazed past Quetta Gladiators in just 17.3 overs with six wickets in hand.
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