Pakistan cricket has reached a new low after the team’s 3-0 Test series defeat to England. The loss has pushed Pakistan down to ninth place in the ICC men’s Test team rankings, the lowest position they have ever occupied. They are now ahead of only Zimbabwe, a team that plays very few Tests and is not part of the World Test Championship (WTC).
Pakistan’s previous lowest ranking was eighth, which they reached in September 2024 after Bangladesh completed a 2-0 Test series whitewash in Pakistan. At that time, Pakistan’s rating points had fallen to 76, their lowest since 1965, apart from a short period when they had no rating because they had not played enough matches.
The latest decline is even worse. Pakistan have lost another five rating points, taking their total to 71, an all-time low and a major concern for the country’s cricket setup. Pakistan had very few answers against England during the three-Test series.
The problems started in the opening Test at Headingley, where England won by an innings and 103 runs. The second Test at Lord’s brought another heavy defeat, with England winning by 194 runs. England then completed a 3-0 series sweep at Edgbaston, chasing down a target of 130 with ease and winning the match by eight wickets.
Pakistan showed their strongest resistance in the third Test but the relatively flatter pitch also helped their batting. Their struggles against a moving ball had already been exposed during the series. The heavy defeat has also led to criticism from cricket experts in Pakistan, with some suggesting that the team’s preparation and practice had not been good enough.
Pakistan’s problems are not limited to the ICC rankings. Earlier, the ICC confirmed that Pakistan had fallen to ninth and last place in the WTC 2025-27 standings after they were penalised 11 WTC points for maintaining a slow over-rate. Their current points percentage is just 4.63, which is far below West Indies’ 20.83, the percentage held by the eighth-placed team. With Pakistan now sitting at an all-time low in the ICC rankings and at the bottom of the WTC table, the pressure on the country’s cricket system is only increasing.
Future seems bleak for Pakistan, what do you say?
