Pakistan Slips to Lowest Test Ranking Since 1965 Following Test Series Whitewash Against Bangladesh

After an unexpected home series thrashing at the hands of Bangladesh, Pakistan’s Test cricket team has reached an all-time low. Pakistan lost the second Test badly, losing by six wickets. Pakistan’s rating of 76, which was their lowest since 1965, caused them to fall to eighth place in the ICC Test team rankings. The match was held in Rawalpindi.

Pakistan was sixth in the rankings prior to the series, but they are now below the West Indies after suffering back-to-back losses to Bangladesh. This sharp decline in their rating highlights how badly they were defeated. Notably, with the exception of a brief period when they were unranked owing to insufficient number of matches, this rating is the lowest Pakistan has had in the Test rankings since 1965.

After the second Test defeat, Pakistan’s skipper, Shan Masood, voiced his profound displeasure and emphasized that his team had not learned from its previous mistakes. Masood brought up the fact that, despite having Bangladesh under control, Pakistan let them retake the match—a problem that continued under his leadership. The difficult series against England coming, he emphasized, the more pressing need for the team to improve in areas like fitness, preparation, and performance under duress.

Shan Masood

Pakistan’s first-ever Test match loss over Bangladesh in this format was a historic low for the team. Even more depressing was the second Test loss in Rawalpindi. Pakistan let Bangladesh to make a significant comeback after lowering them to 26/6 in the first innings. Bangladesh’s youthful pacers easily defended a competitive total that was set up by Litton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz.

Bangladesh shown little nervousness in their second innings as they easily chased down a target of 185 to complete a historic whitewash.

Despite their success, Bangladesh remains in ninth place in the ICC Test rankings, still trailing Pakistan. However, their 2-0 series victory has significantly boosted their standing in the World Test Championship cycle for 2023-25, placing them fourth behind India, Australia, and New Zealand.

This series has undoubtedly been a wake-up call for Pakistan, signaling the need for urgent changes as they prepare for future challenges.