Pakistan played its first-ever Test match against Bangladesh in August 2001 at Multan, where it crushed the visitors by an innings and 264 runs. For the next 23 years, Bangladesh could not exact revenge for that crushing defeat.
In 2024, Bangladesh returned to Pakistan, but this time it was Pakistan’s Test side that looked fragile, suffering defeats in both Tests at Rawalpindi. When Pakistan toured Bangladesh in May 2026, the series was expected to be closely contested.
Bangladesh have traditionally been difficult to beat at home, but Pakistan’s overwhelming historical record against them still made the visitors slight favourites.
What unfolded over the following two weeks, however, was another reminder of Pakistan’s struggles in the longest format.
The visitors repeatedly failed to outplay their opponents, while Bangladesh looked the superior side in all three departments and ultimately emerged deserving series winners.
Pakistan’s Decline in Tests
Pakistan enjoyed considerable success during its years in the UAE, where it turned unfamiliar conditions into a fortress and rose to the No.1 position in the ICC Test rankings in August 2016. To date, that remains the only occasion Pakistan has occupied the top spot in Test cricket, even if only briefly.
Between January 2010 and December 2018, when the UAE served as Pakistan’s adopted home, the team maintained a balanced record:
Pakistan in Tests (Jan 2010 – Dec 2018)
Played: 76 | Won: 32 | Lost: 32 | Drawn: 12
The numbers were largely sustained by Pakistan’s dominance in the UAE, where it won 16 of 31 Tests. Away tours, particularly to SENA countries, continued to expose familiar weaknesses.
Pakistan’s last Test victory in Australia came in 1995. Its last Test series win in South Africa was in 2007. In New Zealand, Pakistan have not won a Test as a visiting side since 2011, while their last Test victory in England came in 2018.
Overseas disappointments, therefore, are hardly a new phenomenon.
What makes the current decline more alarming is that Pakistan no longer knows how to win consistently at home.
Since the return of Test cricket to Pakistan in December 2019, the side’s record has deteriorated significantly:
Pakistan in Tests Since December 2019
Played: 45 | Won: 16 | Lost: 21 | Drawn: 7 | Cancelled: 1
Pace Battery Down
Pakistan is not a country where spin has been the only route to success. Fast bowlers have historically played a central role in the team’s greatest Test victories, and one reason behind Pakistan’s recent struggles is the visible decline of its pace battery.
The issue was evident during the recent Bangladesh series, where the average speeds of Bangladesh’s fast bowlers regularly operated in the high-130s to mid-140s km/h range, while Pakistan’s quicks often hovered in the mid-120s and low-130s.
According to several observers and analysts, that difference in pace reflected a wider gap in effectiveness and skill execution.
Pakistan’s seamers struggled to build pressure, allowing Bangladesh’s batters to score freely and establish scoreboard control throughout the series.
Shaheen Shah Afridi indirectly acknowledged the issue before the ODI series against Australia. Asked about the decline in pace, he remarked, “It is a norm that machines deteriorate with time. We are trying to recharge ourselves. You can put more pace in the ball when your body has had rest, but our bodies remain always at Pakistan’s disposal.”
For years, Pakistan’s most promising fast bowlers have been burdened by excessive workloads and inadequate long-term management. The pattern has become familiar.
Mohammad Amir returned from his ban and was immediately subjected to one of the heaviest workloads in world cricket. Junaid Khan emerged as a match-winner against India in 2012-13, only to see injuries derail his trajectory. Numerous others have followed a similar path.
Shaheen’s own struggles with fitness and pace decline increasingly resemble a recurring story in Pakistan cricket rather than an isolated case.
Another WTC Cycle, Another Struggle?
The broader World Test Championship picture paints an equally worrying image.
Pakistan finished sixth in the inaugural WTC cycle (2019-21) with a points percentage of 43.30. It slipped to seventh in the 2021-23 cycle with 38.10 percent before dropping to the bottom of the table in 2023-25 with 27.98 percent.
The trend is unmistakably downward.
The 2025-27 cycle offers little room for optimism. Pakistan are scheduled to host Sri Lanka and New Zealand while touring England and the West Indies.
England remains one of the most difficult destinations in world cricket, while Pakistan’s overseas record in the Caribbean has historically been inconsistent. At home, neither series can be taken for granted.
New Zealand drew both Tests on their previous visit after Pakistan prepared placid surfaces, while Sri Lanka have traditionally been among the strongest players of spin in the subcontinent.
In other words, victories will not come through conditions alone. Pakistan will need to outperform opponents across all facets of the game.
That is precisely what it has struggled to do in recent years.
A Defining Decade
What makes Pakistan’s current predicament particularly concerning is the absence of a clear foundation for recovery.
The team no longer possesses an intimidating home advantage. Its pace attack is showing signs of wear. Its batting remains inconsistent. Its World Test Championship performances continue to regress.
The 2020s are not over, and there is still time to alter the trajectory. But as things stand, the decade is shaping up as Pakistan’s most difficult era in Test cricket since the early years of its existence.
For a nation that once produced some of cricket’s most feared fast bowlers and match-winners, and at a time when several of its other major sports are already struggling for relevance and success, that may be the most worrying statistic of all.
