Pakistan Cricket Report Card 2024 is here; we all know what happened to the nation’s beloved sport. Throughout the year, things went horribly for the Pakistan Cricket Team and if it were not for the short One Day series victories, this year would have been remembered as the worst year in cricket for the national team.
Apart from the disastrous cricket they played, there was internal drama regarding the coaching staff. Alone this year, there have been six coaches, and five of them resigned shortly; Mickey Arthur, Grant Bradburn, and Mohammad Hafeez left their coaching positions in January before Gary Kirsten and Jason Gillespie joined but left after disagreements with the PCB and frustrations.
The highlights of this year were Pakistan’s disastrous T20 World Cup campaign, which included an embarrassing defeat to the USA, a 2-0 series loss to Bangladesh and an unbeaten ODI series victory.
This is how Pakistan’s table looks for the 2024:
| Format | Played | Wins | Losses | T/NR | Draw | W/L % |
| Test | 7 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 0.40 |
| T20I | 27 | 9 | 16 | 1 | 1 | 0.56 |
| ODI | 9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 3.50 |
| Total | 43 | 18 | 23 | 1 | 1 | 0.78 |
We will look into the details of the performances for the year 2024.
Pakistan Cricket Report Card 2024: A breakdown
Test
Pakistan played seven games in 2024, two away (one each against Australia and South Africa) and five at home (against Bangladesh and England). They won only two games, both against England at home. By the end of 2023, Pakistan currently sits at 8th in the World Test Championship Points Table.
The year started with the Australian series where Pakistan had already lost the series and played the hosts in Sydney. It completed a 17-streak winless Test run on Australian soil.
A few months later, Bangladesh travelled to Pakistan for two WTC matches. The games were played on a placid Rawalpindi wicket. As expected, a high-scoring encounter took place. Shan Masood, rather foolishly, declared on 448-6 before Bangladesh hit back with 565. By the end of Day 4, PAK began their second innings. Mehidy Hasan Miraz and Shakib Al Hassan sparked a magic that changed the game and Bangladesh registered their first-ever Test match win over Pakistan.
The second game was a trial by both pace and spin and Pakistan slipped it. Putting on 274, they had Bangladesh limping at 26-6. But Liton Das and Mehidy Hasan Miraz registered a 165-run partnership and did not look back. A small target of 185 was chased down with six wickets to spare on Day 5, giving Bangladesh their third overseas Test series win.
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England series was followed and that’s where things went towards Pakistan’s favor. Apart from the first Test of course. The first two games were played in Multan and the last in Rawalpindi. The first game was a high-scoring disaster. England piled up 823-7 (d) in response to Pakistan’s 556. Then they bundled the home side by 220 and won by an innings and 47 runs. PAK’s first innings total was the only one over 500 by a team that went on to lose a Test match by an innings.
This led to Babar and Shaheen being dropped from the side and PCB used heavy fans to dry both Multan and Rawalpindi pitches to support spinners. Noman Ali and Sajid Khan were added and this turned the whole series. Both spinners combined took 39 wickets out of 40 and spun their side to their first series win over England in nine years.
The final match of the year was the South African Test match. It could have been a historic win for the national side, especially considering that the Proteas were 99-8 chasing 148. But Shan’s questionable field placement and bowling changes led a slip-up and they are on under the spotlight.
T20 Internationals
It has been one of the worst years for PAK cricket in T20Is. Among the top seven Test nations, they have failed to win a single series. They have played 27 games and won only nine of them: three against New Zealand, three against Ireland, two against Zimbabwe, and one against Canada.
The biggest disappointment came in the 2024 T20 World Cup. Their shocking defeat to the USA set off the alarm of what was about to come, and that pathetic defeat to India made it clear what was going on. Eventually, they were eliminated. Their wins to Canada and Ireland were not impressive by any means.
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Apart from the USA loss, PAK lost to Ireland in T20Is for the first time just before the world event when they toured Ireland for three games. And a second-string national side lost to Zimbabwe. Overall, they have played seven T20I series and won only; a 2-1 win against Ireland which was their first T20I series win since 2021.
More than that, there were captaincy dilemmas; four captains led Pakistan in the format. Shaheen, who was announced as Babar’s successor after the 2023 World Cup, was stripped of leadership shortly after a 4-1 loss to New Zealand. Zaka Ashraf resigned and Mohsin Naqvi came in place and brought back Babar as captain.
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After a disastrous world tournament, Babar willingly resigned and Mohammad Rizwan was given the charge with Salman Ali Agha the vice-captain. However, Rizwan is yet to win a T20I match as captain in four games while Salman led to two victories.
One Day Internationals
The only format which brought joy to Pakistan fans in 2024. Australia, Zimbabwe and South Africa, all away tours, were dominated by Pakistan.
The Australia series was new white-ball captain Rizwan’s first assignment. He started with a thrilling loss. But he and his team made a remarkable comeback, winning their first ODI series in Australia after 22 years.
A second-string Pakistan played in Zimbabwe. They lost the first game but made a strong comeback in the final two games to clinch a series victory. The South Africa series will also be memorable. South Africa’s first series loss by such a margin was a three-nil loss.
Pakistan Cricket has been sort of a mess since the 2023 Asia Cup which saw their poor run in the 2023 World Cup. The mess was spread in 2024. And if it was not for the ODI series victories and that Test series win over England, this would have easily been the worst year for Pakistan cricket.
2025 looms and so does the Champions Trophy. Pakistan had a lot to clean up before they headed for the mega-event.
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