Pakistan Cricket 2025
\nYear delivers contrasts for Pakistan cricket; senior setbacks, junior glory, and flashes of home dominance
\n islamabad
\nWhile Pakistan\u2019s senior cricket team wrapped up 2025 without winning a major event trophy, the nation\u2019s young stars stole the spotlight. Emerging talents showcased brilliance across formats, lifting silverware and giving fans a glimpse of a promising future.
\nThe year proved that Pakistan\u2019s cricketing hope increasingly rests with its youth.
\nThe year began on a sour note for Pakistan as the national team suffered a 2-0 whitewash at the hands of South Africa in the second Test of the series.
\nThe defeat set an early tone of inconsistency and disappointment.
\nWTC heartbreak
\nPakistan\u2019s ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2023\u201325 campaign ended on a damp note.
\nAfter drawing the final Test against West Indies \u2014 despite winning the opener \u2014 the Green Shirts finished at the bottom of the table with just five wins from 14 matches.
\nWhite-ball woes
\nThe first limited-overs assignment of the year, a 50-over tri-series at home against New Zealand and South Africa, brought more frustration.
\nPakistan reached the final but fell to an unbeaten New Zealand side, extending their streak of underwhelming performances.
\nHosting with a twist
\nThe ICC Champions Trophy 2025 came to Pakistan, but the tournament had a sour subplot: India played all their matches at a neutral venue in Dubai, continuing the controversial \u201cfusion formula\u201d of avoiding tours between the two nations for three years.
\nDespite successfully hosting the event, Pakistan\u2019s campaign was disappointing, with defeats to New Zealand and India, while rain washed out their clash against Bangladesh.
\nDown under disaster
\nThe pain continued in New Zealand, where Pakistan endured a 4-1 T20I series defeat.
\nThis was followed by a 3-0 ODI whitewash, extending their losing streak on foreign soil.
\nShaheen\u2019s side strikes gold: Lahore\u2019s PSL treble
\nIn a season that will be remembered for fireworks and fearless cricket, the Lahore Qalandars etched their name deeper into PSL history.
\nLed by the ever-charismatic Afridi, the Qalandars have now played four PSL finals\u2014and emerged victorious three times, joining Islamabad United as the only teams to claim the title thrice.
\nThe grand finale saw a high-octane clash against Quetta Gladiators, where Shaheen of the Lahore side lit up the scoreboard.
\nSikandar Raza dazzled with an all-round masterclass, while Kusal Perera\u2019s match-winning fifty left the Gladiators reeling.
\nA glimmer of hope at home
\nPakistan finally struck back on home turf, whitewashing Bangladesh 3-0 in a T20I series.
\nBut the reprieve was short-lived; in the return series in Bangladesh, the hosts exacted revenge with a 2-1 series win.
\nEvening out with West Indies
\nPakistan and the West Indies shared spoils in dual encounters.
\nThe Green Shirts claimed a 2-1 T20I series win, only to see the Caribbean team retaliate with a 2-1 ODI series victory.
\nTri-series triumphs
\nConfidence returned as Pakistan dominated back-to-back T20 tri-series against the UAE and Afghanistan.
\nSalman Agha\u2019s side capped it off by defeating Afghanistan in a low-scoring final to claim the crown.
\nAsia Cup 2025 agony
\nThe ACC Men\u2019s Asia Cup 2025 belonged to India, who swept Pakistan in all three encounters, including the group-stage clash, Super Four, and grand finale.
\nThe tournament was marred by controversy, from handshake snubs to questionable sportsmanship, and even saw India bypass the ceremonial trophy handover to PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi.
\nHandshake drama and trophy dilemmas: Pakistan-India 2025
\nThe sportsmanship saga between India and Pakistan extended beyond the ACC Men\u2019s Asia Cup 2025, marking a series of high-profile controversies in cricket.
\nThe tension began in the group-stage clash of the Asia Cup, continued through the Super Four, and culminated in the final, where India defeated Pakistan but chose not to personally accept the trophy from Mohsin Naqvi, the PCB chairman and ACC president.
\nSimilar incidents were reported in the Women\u2019s World Cup clash between the two sides and the Hong Kong Super Sixes, major ACC events where handshakes and courtesies were allegedly ignored.
\nThe tensions escalated further when India boycotted playing against Pakistan in the second season of the World Championship of Legends (WCL), refusing to face them in both the group stage and the semifinal.
\nWhile India\u2019s on-field performances remained strong, their repeated off-field snubs sparked criticism across media and fan forums, raising questions about the balance between competitive rivalry and basic sportsmanship in cricket.
\nLeadership shift: From Rizwan to Shaheen
\n2025 saw Pakistan cricket witness a dramatic shuffle in their white-ball leadership.
\nThe year\u2019s only major captaincy change came when the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) decided to relieve wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan of his ODI duties, handing the reins to pacer Shaheen Afridi.
\nThe decision, finalised during an Islamabad meeting between white-ball coach Mike Hesson, Director of High-Performance Aqib Javed, and the selection committee on October 20, aimed to inject fresh energy into the fifty-over squad.
\nShaheen, no stranger to captaincy, had previously led Pakistan in T20Is during the New Zealand tour of January 2024.
\nHowever, following a 4-1 series defeat to the Blackcaps, he was replaced by Babar Azam, who commanded the side through last year\u2019s T20 World Cup.
\nRizwan, who led Pakistan in 20 ODIs with nine wins, had a mixed tenure marked by struggles in T20Is.
\nThe T20 captaincy baton now passes to all-rounder Salman Ali Agha, as Pakistan looks to regroup ahead of their New Zealand tour, closing 2025 with a fresh leadership outlook and hopes for a brighter white-ball future.
\nPakistan\u2019s WTC campaign kicks off with highs and lows
\nThe Green Shirts found form in the WTC 2025\u201327 opener, beating defending champions South Africa in the first Test.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Pakistan Cricket 2025 Year delivers contrasts for Pakistan cricket; senior setbacks, junior glory, and flashes of home dominance islamabad While Pakistan\u2019s senior cricket team wrapped up 2025 without winning a major event trophy, the nation\u2019s young stars stole the spotlight. Emerging talents showcased brilliance across formats, lifting silverware and giving fans a glimpse of a […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":523160,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-523145","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n