"Seriously good T20 opener" - Harbhajan Singh and Michael Vaughan laud star Aussie batter's sensational 100 in BBL 2024-25

Former India spinner Harbhajan Singh and erstwhile England captain Michael Vaughan have lauded former Aussie skipper Steve Smith following his blistering century in the 2024-25 Big Bash League (BBL). Notably, the Sydney Sixers opener smashed an unbeaten 121 runs off 64 balls at a stunning strike rate of 189.06, including seven maximums and 10 boundaries, against Perth Scorchers at SCG on Saturday, January 11. This was Smith’s third century in the Australian T20 league.

Vaughan lauded Smith, “the opener”, writing on X:

“Steve Smith is a seriously good T20 opener these days … #bigbash”

Replying to the post, Harbhajan tagged Smith and shared similar sentiments:

“Always been a good player in any format. Reliable”

Smith was equally brilliant while leading reigning champions Washington Freedom in 2024 Major League Cricket (MLC). He amassed 336 runs in nine matches at a strike rate of 148.67, including three half-centuries.

What was more remarkable was that Smith was playing his first game of this BBL season after playing Test cricket over the last two months. He recently smashed two centuries in the 2024-25 Border-Gavaskar Trophy as Australia beat India by 3-1 to secure the series.

Surprisingly, Steve Smith went unsold at the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2025 auction in November last year. His base price was ₹2 crore.

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“They’re a bit off me” – Steve Smith on selectors ignoring him in T20Is after BBL ton

Steve Smith gave a statement to selectors following his ton in the BBL, adding that he was available for T20Is. The 35-year-old told Fox Cricket (via nine.com.au):

"They're a bit off me there, aren't they? I'm available for selection, but there's plenty of good batters around the country, isn't there? And I'm getting older."

Overall, Smith has 5734 runs in 256 T20s at a strike rate of 129.71, including four tons and 27 half-centuries. He has 1147 runs in 32 games in BBL.

The New South Wales batter, however, has an underwhelming stat in T20Is for Australia. He has scored just 1094 runs in 67 matches at a strike rate of 125.45, including five fifties.

His last T20I appearance came against New Zealand in February 2024. The senior batter was axed from the 2024 T20 World Cup, where the Aussies exited in the semifinals.