Babar Azam to miss remainder of BBL finals, set to return to Pakistan for team camp

Babar Azam won't feature in the remainder of the BBL finals with Sydney Sixers announcing that he was required to return to Pakistan for a national team camp.

Sixers made the announcement on Thursday, just over 24 hours out from their Challenger final against Hobart Hurricanes at the SCG, with the winner to play Perth Scorchers in the BBL final in Perth on Sunday.

Babar had initially been available for the entire tournament and was not selected in Pakistan's three-match T20I series against Sri Lanka in early January. Australia play Pakistan in three T20Is starting on January 29 but all of Australia's squad members who are still involved in the BBL will remain with their BBL teams until after the final, with the rest of the squad flying to the UAE for a pre-tour camp on January 24.

"The Sydney Sixers have today been informed that Sixers opener Babar Azam is required to return to Pakistan to join his national teammates in camp, as preparations commence for upcoming international matches," the statement said.

"As a result, Babar will depart Australia immediately and will not be available for selection for the remainder of the BBL|15 Finals Series."

Sixers general manager Rachael Haynes confirmed that they had initially planned for Babar to play the entire tournament.

"The Sydney Sixers are sincerely grateful for the opportunity to have had Babar represent the club during his time in Australia," Haynes said in a statement.

"While we had initially planned for Babar to be available throughout the Finals, he has been an immensely valued member of our group, and we fully understand that the commencement of Pakistan's national camp means preparations are now underway for upcoming matches."

The news comes just two days after Sixers captain Moises Henriques revealed that it took Babar "a couple of days" to settle after being "quite upset" at Steven Smith denying him a single against Thunder.

"It took a couple of days for that to settle down," Henriques told Fox Cricket during the Qualifier final against Scorchers. "To be honest, think it's just a bit of a misunderstanding of culture of each other.

"It's a pretty common thing in our culture, and maybe for him (Babar) he wasn't used to it and didn't quite understand. Once it was explained to him he was absolutely fine. They've kissed and made up and it's two of the greats back friendly again."

Henriques added that it was he and Sixers coach Greg Shipperd who took the lead role in talking to Babar. "[We are] always trying to understand…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. Once we got to the bottom of it, it was okay."

Babar finishes his first stint in the BBL with 202 runs from 11 games, averaging 22.44 and striking at just 103.06 despite making two half-centuries. Despite a difficult season with the bat, Babar was positive about his time in Sydney.

"First of all, thank you so much Sydney Sixers for having me, all the boys, all the coaches and I have very (sic) enjoyed my time," Babar said in a statement. "Unfortunately, I will now have to leave the team, to go to the 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, lot of encourage (sic), a lot of fun, so I have very enjoyed that vibe at Sydney Cricket Ground, so thank you so much."

Veteran Sixers batter Daniel Hughes has been recalled to Sixers' squad for the Challenger and is set to play his 100th BBL game. Meanwhile, Hurricanes skipper Nathan Ellis has also been named to return after missing Wednesday's Knockout final win over Melbourne Stars due to a minor hamstring issue.