Steve Smith Says He Had a ‘Brain Fade’. What Does That Even Mean?

Steve Smith. (Photo: Harsh Sahani/The Quint)

Australian captain Steve Smith claimed that the decision to turn around and look at the dressing room for guidance on a DRS referral after he was given out in the second innings of the Bengaluru Test was a ‘brain fade’.

What really is a brain fade, you wonder?

(Gif Courtesy: giphy.com)

Is it that feeling you get when you’re umm...high? Or is it a thing the brain does when it has to make an important decision, like use your team’s last referral?

(Gif Courtesy: giphy.com)

The Oxford dictionary defines the term ‘brain fade’ as the temporary inability to concentrate or think clearly.

Funny then, that Virat Kohli caught the Aussies being unable to ‘think clearly’ on two other occasions before the Steve Smith controversy.

Also Read: In Pics: Did Virat Kohli Just Catch Steve Smith Trying to Cheat?

Smith later admitted that he made the ‘mistake’ after his seemingly sober teammate Peter Handscomb told him to “look up there”.

The two cricketers then turned to the dressing room – ‘brain faded’.

(Gif Courtesy: giphy.com)

This, when the rules of DRS clearly state that ‘signals from dressing room must not be given’.

(Gif Courtesy: giphy.com)

So then we wonder whether Smith’s reaction was a genuine mistake or was the ‘brain fade’ theory just a convenient excuse. After all, this isn’t the first time the Australians have been caught doing not-so-gentlemanly stuff in the gentleman’s game.

Also Read: No Action Will be Taken Against Steve Smith For DRS Row: ICC