Pakistan’s Test cricket crisis: When winning became the exception

Pakistan Cricket’s current crisis goes beyond a bad series or a few underperforming stars. The latest episode is particularly Bleak. Pakistan lost all three Tests on their 2026 England tour - by an innings and 103 runs, 194 runs and eight wickets - as England completed a 3-0 sweep of Pakistan for the second time, after 2022/23. It was Pakistan’s 11th series loss by a 0-3 margin, their sixth whitewash in 12 multi-Test series over the last four years, and their ninth 0-3 loss in a three-Test series in the 21st century - the most by any team, ahead of Sri Lanka (five).

After the England series loss at Lord’s, the Pakistan Cricket Board responded by sacking head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed, reshuffling the coaching staff and sending seven players home. The moves have put Pakistan cricket under fresh scrutiny, with former Test coach Jason Gillespie’s criticism of frequent U-turns raising questions about selection, consistency and long-term planning. The numbers suggest a deeper problem: a team capable of individual brilliance but struggling to turn it into sustained success, especially in Tests and major tournaments.

Selection inconsistency has long plagued Pakistan cricket, particularly since August 2021, the start of the second WTC cycle. In 37 Tests during this period, they have fielded an unchanged XI just thrice: against Bangladesh in Dhaka in 2021, against Sri Lanka in Colombo in 2023 and England in Rawalpindi in 2024. They won all those three matches and sealed the series. All the constant chopping and changing means Pakistan have used 43 players in 37 Tests since the start of WTC 2021-23 cycle. After the first 11 players, they introduced 32 more across the next 36 matches - 0.89 new players per Test. Among WTC teams, only South Africa has a higher turnover, largely due to the second-string side they fielded in New Zealand in 2023-24 because of SA20 league.

Since August 2021, no specialist bowler has played more than 18 of Pakistan’s 37 Tests, with Noman Ali leading the way. Among pacers, Shaheen Afridi played just 17 Tests in this period. Among batters, no player has featured in all 37 Test matches. Babar Azam played 33, Rizwan 32 and Salman Agha played 28 games each. Pakistan have fielded 23 debutants in Tests since the start of the second WTC. Only South Africa (26), England (24) have more in this regard. Out of 23 Pakistan debutants, 13 were specialist bowlers. These constant chopping and changing has only compounded Pakistan’s Test struggles, denying the side the continuity and stability needed to build consistency.

Players aren’t the only area of constant change for Pakistan. The coaching and support staff, as well as the captaincy, have also been repeatedly reshuffled. Shan Masood’s 3-12 record was followed by Babar Azam’s reinstatement, while Pakistan have made 11 coaching changes across formats in five years, including seven different Test coaches in the last 3 years since May 2023.

Pakistan’s coaching uncertainty began in September 2021, when Misbah-ul-Haq and Waqar Younis resigned. Saqlain Mushtaq, Grant Bradburn, Mickey Arthur and Mohammad Hafeez followed in quick succession. In 2024, the PCB split the roles, appointing Jason Gillespie for Tests and Gary Kirsten for white-ball cricket, but both departed within months. Aqib Javed then took interim charge before Mike Hesson became permanent white-ball coach in May 2025.

Former Pakistan captain Sarfaraz Ahmed was appointed red-ball head coach ahead of the 2026 Bangladesh Tests. His stint lasted only a few months, ending after Pakistan’s defeats at Leeds and Lord’s against England. The PCB sacked Sarfaraz and bowling coach Umar Gul, sent seven players home, and handed Test duties to white-ball coach Mike Hesson. Such instability hurts Test cricket, where coaches need time to build a system. Constant changes to coaches, selectors and players suggest a reactive approach rather than long-term planning.

Pakistan’s red-ball cricket is flashing serious warning signs. They finished seventh in the 2021-23 WTC cycle with a 38.1% points percentage (four wins in 14 Tests), ninth in 2023-25 at 27.98% (five wins in 14 Tests), and now sit bottom in the ongoing cycle with just two wins in nine Tests and a 14.81% points percentage.

Pakistan has the second-worst win-loss ratio (0.5) in Tests among WTC teams since the start of the second WTC cycle (2021-23). Only West Indies (0.4) have fared worse since then. And now their overall Test win-loss ratio (0.987) has dipped below 1.0 for the first time since 1987, with 153 wins against 155 losses in 474 matches.

The home Tests comparison makes Pakistan’s decline stark. South Africa, Australia and England dominate home records with W/L ratio of 5.5, 5.0 and 2.2 respectively, while India are also strong at 2.0 with 14 wins and 7 losses since the start of the 2021-23 cycle. New Zealand (W/L: 1.43) and Sri Lanka (W/L: 1.43) have 10 wins each, but Pakistan have managed just four wins and nine defeats in 17 Tests, giving them a poor 0.444 win-loss ratio - the worst among the WTC teams and only better than Zimbabwe (0.285). Their tally is below Bangladesh (0.727) and West Indies (0.875).

Their away record too offers little respite, with Pakistan continuing to struggle on the road and failing to turn away Tests into consistent wins. Since August 2021, Pakistan have won just seven and lost 13 of 20 Tests - the third-most defeats among WTC teams, behind England (17) and West Indies (15). Their 0.538 win-loss ratio ranks fifth, well behind Australia (2.4), South Africa (1.25), New Zealand (1.125) and India (1.1).

Pakistan have not won outside Asia, barring the West Indies, since the start of the second WTC. They are winless in their last 19 Tests in SENA countries since 2018, losing 17 and drawing two. Their last such win came at Lord’s in May 2018, making them the only Asian side without a SENA win since 2019.

Since the start of the 2021-23 WTC cycle, Pakistan have been bowled out for under 250 runs in 32 innings of their 37 Tests in this period, and 18 of those totals were below 200. They have been bowled out for under 200 in five consecutive innings on the recent England tour before making one above 400 in the 3rd innings of Edgbaston Test. That sequence of five sub-200 scores was the first such occurance in their Test history. Their five totals were 171, 135, 110, 194 and 133, lasting an average of just 41.3 overs per innings.

Pakistan’s combined batting average of 28.46 since the start of the 2021-23 WTC cycle till date ranks sixth among the nine teams, only South Africa, Bangladesh and West Indies fared worse in this period. Their batters scored the fourth-least number of centuries among all the WTC sides in this period. Even their current captain Babar Azam has now gone 40 consecutive innings without scoring a Test century. His last Test ton came against New Zealand in Karachi in December 2022.

During this period, only seven Pakistan batters have scored 1000-plus runs, but none have averages above 45. The highest-scoring batter is Babar Azam with 2602 runs at an average of 43.4. Shan Masood, their last captain, with 1548 runs at 32.25, stands at six among seven Pakistan batters just above Imam-ul-Haq (1380 runs at an average of 39.42). Rizwan, with 1862 runs at 35.8, has scored only two hundred (the fewest among seven batters) since the 2021-23 WTC cycle. By comparison, 51 batters from other WTC teams have scored 1000-plus runs and 11 of those have at an average of more than 45.0 in this period.

For decades, Pakistan’s Test identity was built on pace. From Imran Khan to Wasim Akram, Waqar Younis and Mohammad Asif, quicks drove their biggest wins, with spin playing a supporting role. But since the 2021-23 WTC cycle, home success has been powered by spin with Noman Ali, Sajid Khan and Abrar Ahmed thriving through accuracy, attacking fields and spin-friendly pitches.

Pakistan’s pace-bowling numbers are more concerning: they picked 305 wickets at an average of 32.7 (second worst after Bangladesh) and a strike rate of 55.7 - the second-worst among nine WTC teams since the start of the 2021-23 cycle. Opposition pacers have a combined average of just 27.4 and strike rate of 48.7. The figures reflect Pakistan’s batting struggles but also underline how far their bowling attack has fallen from its traditional strength.

The highest number of wickets taken by a Pakistan pacer in this period is 68 by Shaheen Afridi in 17 Tests at an average of 26.89. The only other Pakistan pace bowler with 45-plus wickets in this period is Mohammad Abbas (10 Tests) who has found success since his return to the Test side last November. He picked four 5-wicket hauls. He also has the second-most wickets (31 at 21.06) by any bowler this year in 2026 after Josh Tongue (33 at 25.67). Among all Pakistan bowlers, only Noman Ali (85 in 18 matches), Sajid Khan (75 in 14 matches) and Shaheen have taken more wickets than Abbas in this period, but they featured in more Tests.

That spin shift was stark against England in the 2024 home series. Noman Ali and Sajid Khan took 39 of England’s 40 wickets in the final two Tests - the highest by a bowling pair in two Tests. They claimed all 20 wickets in Multan and in Rawalpindi, where Pakistan’s specialist pacers did not bowl a single delivery. Spin accounted for 73 wickets in the series, including 43 for Pakistan’s spinners.Last year, Pakistan won two Tests on the back of their spinners, who took 20 wickets against West Indies in Multan and 16 against South Africa in Lahore. Their spinners had also taken 13 wickets in a series win in Bangladesh in 2021. Since then, Pakistan have lost two Test series to Bangladesh - at home in 2024 and away in 2026.

The trend continued against West Indies, with Noman becoming the first Pakistan spinner to take a Test hat-trick. Pakistan’s last away Test series win came in July 2023 against Sri Lanka, driven by spin. Since the start of the 2021-23 WTC cycle, Pakistan have won just 11 of 37 Tests. Nine of those wins came when their spinners took 11 or more wickets in a match, including a 14-wicket haul in the West Indies earlier this year. That remains their only win in their last 12 away Tests.

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