One can imagine the Pakistani public’s joy when they heard that cricket was returning to their nation. It’d been a decade since a Test match was played in the country, and Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) agreed to send their team back to Pakistan despite that horrible 2009 incident. The return of Test cricket in Pakistan was successful, as they beat Sri Lanka 1-0. Since then, Pakistan has played 5 series and has a 2-2 record.
On paper, that’s fine. Ideally, you’d like a positive record, but there is nothing shabby about it unless you dive deep into it. The opponents they beat were South Africa and Bangladesh, who were ranked 6th and 10th after the 2019-2021 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. What’s more, Pakistan combined played just three tests against them.
Return to home, not going as planned
January 2021 was the last time Pakistan won a test match or series at home. As I write this, the Pakistan vs Bangladesh 1st Test is heading towards a draw as well. What’s the reason? Why are they not winning at home? It’s the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) and their insistence on creating flat tracks that offer no resistance to bowlers. Some call them roads, others highways.
They’ve created such placid tracks, especially in the last three series, that half the matches have ended in draws. But the other half is more concerning. The remaining four they’ve lost. It could’ve been just one loss, but Brendon McCullum and Ben Stokes’ England cricket team shocked them with their approach and whitewashed Pakistan for the first time in their history.
Pakistan’s Test record at home
| From | Matches Played | Won | Lost | Drawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 onwards | 13 | 4 | 4 | 5 |
| 2022 onwards | 8 | 0 | 4 | 4 |
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PCB to blame?
Ramiz Raja, Najam Sethi and Zaka Ashraf have come and gone as PCB chiefs, but the pitches remain the same. Many speculated that it was Babar Azam’s wish, the then Pakistan captain, to roll out flat tracks. However, this has been disproven. Shan Masood and Jason Gillespie have taken over as captain and head coach, yet things remain the same.
The conclusion one has to arrive at is that PCB is scared that the Pakistan cricket team will lose the series, and so they are preparing pitches on which they can’t lose. That, however, has backfired. They’ve lost to Australia and England in the 3-match series’ and may not even beat Bangladesh, who are currently 8th on the WTC points table for the 2023–25 cycle.
Pakistan won’t reach the WTC Final 2025 despite having a favourable enough route as a consequence, but that’s nothing. The bigger issue is that they might be slowly killing Test cricket in their nation. We know Test cricket isn’t the most important format of cricket anymore, at least for fans and broadcasters. The turnout for these Tests is at a new low in most countries.
The PCB was gifting away free tickets for the Bangladesh Test in Rawalpindi, but still not many came. The fear of losing has made PCB take the safe route, but that may have the longest format’s future in Pakistan. Will fans or even players care to watch bowling toil in the heat and batters knock the ball around for days? The PCB would sure hope so.
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