Pakistan have slipped to ninth in the ICC men’s Test rankings, their lowest position ever, after England completed a 3-0 whitewash in the series. Just over a decade ago, in August 2016, they had risen to the top of the table.
A decade-long fall from the summit
Pakistan first reached the top of the men’s Test team rankings in August 2016, under the captaincy of Misbah-ul-Haq. They had climbed to third after drawing 2-2 in England, then moved to second after Sri Lanka whitewashed Australia 3-0 at home. They dethroned India from the top on 22 August 2016, when rain washed out the West Indies vs India Trinidad Test.
That peak now feels a long way off. After a chaotic series in England, Pakistan have dropped to ninth, a historic low.
A chaotic series in England
Pakistan started the series seventh in the rankings with 75 rating points. They lost by an innings and 103 runs at Headingley and by 194 runs at Lord’s. Those defeats prompted wholesale changes from the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), which sacked the head coach and the bowling coach.
The changes did not alter the outcome at Edgbaston. Pakistan lost by eight wickets, which cost them another place in the rankings and sent them to their all-time low of ninth. They lost four rating points over the course of the series and now have 71. England, meanwhile, stayed in fifth place.
Little sign of recovery
The contrast with 2016 is stark. That rise to the top came on the back of three consecutive series wins, along with the 2-2 draw in England. The current side has won just one Test series since beating Sri Lanka 2-0 away in July 2023. That was a 2-1 victory over England in 2024, when Pakistan produced rank turners after losing the first Test by an innings and 47 runs on a flat pitch.
Further punishment in the World Test Championship
The sorry week did not end with the series. Babar Azam’s side were also docked 11 World Test Championship (WTC) points for a slow over-rate in the Edgbaston Test. They now sit at the bottom of the WTC points table with just five points from nine matches in the ongoing cycle.