Pakistan Cricket

Nicknamed the Men in Green, the Pakistan cricket team represents the country of Pakistan in international cricket matches in all three formats of the game. The team regularly participates in series against other countries as well as representing the country in international competitions like the ICC Cricket World Cups, ICC Champions Trophy, ICC T20 World Cups, and the ICC World Test Championship.

Pakistan became a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) in 1952. But the major cities in Pakistan have been hosting cricket matches way before 1952. The first-ever international cricket match in Pakistan was played in 1935 in Karachi. After becoming an independent country in 1947, the sport of cricket saw tremendous growth in the country. They played their first-ever Test match against India in 1952 in Delhi.

Pakistan squad and support staff

The Pakistan cricket team boasts of a few all-format superstars in the form of Babar Azam, Mohammad Rizwan, and Shaheen Shah Afridi to name a few. As of January 2025, top-order batter Shan Masood is the captain of the Pakistan team in Tests. In white-ball cricket, viz., ODIs and T20Is, wicketkeeper-batter Mohammad Rizwan is the captain of the Pakistan cricket team. According to the official website of the Pakistan Cricket Board, pacer Mohammad Amir and all-rounder Imad Wasim have announced their retirement from international cricket.

*Last updated in Jan 2025

Pakistan squad - Test

As of January 2025, the Pakistan Test team consists of twenty players including six batters, a wicketkeeper-batter, three all-rounders, and ten bowlers.

Led by captain Shan Masood, the team is playing in the ongoing ICC World Test Championship 2023-25.

*Last updated in Jan 2025

Pakistan squad - ODI

As of January 2025, the Pakistan ODI team comprises five batters, two wicketkeeper-batters, three all-rounders, and seven bowlers.

Mohammad Rizwan is the captain of the ODI team.

*Last updated in Jan 2025

Pakistan squad - T20I

As of January 2025, Mohammad Rizwan is the captain of the Pakistan T20I team.

The T20I squad of the Pakistan team includes thirty players and contains nine batters, three wicketkeeper-batters, eleven bowlers, and seven all-rounders.

According to the official website of the Pakistan Cricket Board, Mohammad Amir and Imad Wasim have announced their international retirement.

Both the players last featured in the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 in the West Indies and the United States of America.

*Last updated in Jan 2025

Supporting staff

According to the official website of the ICC, former Pakistani pacer Aqib Javed has been appointed as the white-ball coach of the Pakistan team until the culmination of the ICC Champions Trophy 2025. As per the official website of the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), Javed has also been appointed the interim coach of the Pakistan Test team.

The appointment was made following the resignation of former Pakistani head coach Jason Gillespie, according to The Times Of India.

Previously, former South African batter Gary Kirsten was appointed as the head coach of the Pakistan team in white-ball cricket for a two-year contract in April 2024.

Along with him, former Pakistani bowling all-rounder Azhar Mahmood was named the all-format assistant coach for Pakistan.

However, Kirsten resigned from the position in October 2024, according to the ICC’s official website.

According to The Hindu, Shahid Aslam was appointed as the batting coach in November 2024.

Pakistan’s spinner Saeed Ajmal was appointed as the spin bowling coach, as per the ICC’s official website.

Former Pakistani pacer Wahab Riaz was promoted from Chief Selector to Senior Team Manager. According to the PCB’s official handle on X, Mohammad Masroor is the fielding coach of the Pakistan team.

According to the PCB’s official website, former Pakistani pacer Umar Gul was appointed the pace bowling coach of the Pakistan team in November 2023.

*Last updated in Jan 2025

Pakistan’s records and honors

The Pakistan cricket team played their first international match in a Test in 1952. They played their first ODI match in 1973 and their first T20I match in 2006. As of January 2025, the Men in Green have won the ICC Cricket World Cup, the ICC T20 World Cup, and the ICC Champions Trophy apiece. However, they are yet to win the ICC World Test Championship, as of January 2025.

Pakistan’s records

Under the captaincy of Abdul Kardar, the Pakistan cricket team played their first Test match against India in the first Test of Pakistan’s tour of India 1952 in the Feroz Shah Kotla Stadium (now Arun Jaitley Stadium) in Delhi on October 16, 1952. The Pakistan team played their maiden ODI against New Zealand at Lancaster Park, Christchurch, on February 11, 1973, under the captaincy of opener Intikhab Alam.

In Pakistan’s tour of England and Scotland in 2006, the Pakistan team made their maiden T20I appearance against England in the County Ground, Bristol, under the leadership of Inzamam-ul-Haq on August 28, 2006.

All-rounder Shahid Afridi was named the ‘Player of the Match’ for his match-winning cameo of 28 runs off just 10 deliveries as Pakistan won the game by a margin of 5 runs.

As of January 2025, Pakistan has played 461 Test matches and won 150 Tests. The Men in Green have won 519 games out of 979 ODIs played since 1973. They have also won 145 T20Is in 253 games.

*Last updated in Jan 2025

Pakistan’s honors

As of January 2025, Pakistan has played in every Cricket World Cup since the maiden edition in 1975. Under the leadership of all-rounder Imran Khan, the Pakistan cricket team won their maiden Cricket World Cup Trophy in the Benson and Hedges World Cup 1992 by defeating England in the final held in Brisbane, Australia, on March 8, 1992. They were the runners-up in 1999 under the captaincy of Wasim Akram, losing to the Aussies in the final. They have been the co-hosts of the tournament twice, in 1987 and 1996.

As of January 2025, Pakistan has participated in all nine editions of the ICC T20 World Cups played to date.

Under Younis Khan’s captaincy, they lifted the ICC World Twenty20 in 2009 defeating the Sri Lanka cricket team.

They were the runners-up in the inaugural edition of the ICC World Twenty20, under the leadership of Misbah-ul-Haq in 2007, and the ICC T20 World Cup in 2022, under the captaincy of Babar Azam.

As of January 2025, the Pakistan cricket team has made an appearance in all eight editions of the ICC Champions Trophy.

Led by wicketkeeper-batter Sarfraz Ahmed, they were crowned champions in the last edition in 2017 after they defeated their arch-rivals Indian cricket team in the final at The Oval. According to the official website of the ICC, Pakistan will be hosting the ninth edition of the ICC Champions Trophy in 2025.

According to The Wisden, Pakistan became the first team to whitewash the South African team in a bilateral ODI series in South Africa, in December 2024.

*Last updated in Jan 2025

Pakistan’s governing body

The Pakistani cricket team is governed by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB). The Board was founded in 1949. It is headquartered in Lahore, Pakistan. The Board is responsible for organizing all tours and matches played by the Pakistan national cricket team.

Pakistan’s Cricket Board

According to the PCB’s official website, the Board was recognized under the Sports (Development and Control) Ordinance 1962. Its Patron-in-Chief Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif heads the PCB, the Prime Minister of Pakistan.

*Last updated in Jan 2025

The Board of Governors

Mohsin Naqvi heads the Board of Governors and is the Chairman of PCB. The members of the PCB include Mustafa Ramday, and Zahid Akhtar Zaman as the Chief Secretary of Punjab. Sajjad Ali Khokhar presides as the President of the Regional Cricket Association AJK and Zafarullah Jadgal as the President of Regional Cricket Association Dera Murad Jamali. Tanveer Ahmed acts as the President of Regional Cricket Association Larkana and Tariq Sarwar as the President of Regional Cricket Association Bahawalpur. Muhammad Ismail Qureshi is a member of the Sui Northern Gas Pipeline Limited, Anwaar Ahmad Khan of Ghani Glass Limited, Zaheer Abbas of State Bank of Pakistan, and Osama Azhar of the Pakistan Television Corporation (PTV).

*Last updated in Jan 2025

Men’s national selection committee

According to the PCB’s official website, the members of the Men’s National Selection Committee of the Pakistan team include Aleem Dar, Aqib Javed, Asad Shafiq, Azhar Ali, and Hassan Cheema.

*Last updated in Jan 2025

Corporate structure

The Corporate structure of the PCB comprises Chairman Mohsin Naqvi, Chief Operating Officer Sumair Ahmad Syed, Chief Financial Officer Javed Murtaza, the Chief Executive Officer of the Pakistan Super League (PSL), and advisor to Chairman, Salman Naseer, the Director of High-Performance Nadeem Khan, the Director of International Cricket, Usman Wahla, the Director of Domestic Cricketing Operations Abdullah Khurram Niazi, the Director of Media and Communications Sami Ul Hasan, the Director of Security and Anti Corruption and Retd. Lieutenant Colonel Khalid Mahmood, and the Director of HR and Administration Abdul Faisal Malik.

*Last updated in Jan 2025

Pakistan team’s jersey

The Pakistan limited-overs jerseys have been some shade of green. In the past, the jersey has had shades of blue, yellow, and golden in addition to green. According to the Pakistan Cricket Board’s official website, Pakistan sports a ‘Matrix’ jersey in T20Is, specially curated for the ICC T20 World World Cup 2024. It has shades of dark and light green with the logo of the PCB stitched on the left side of the chest. In ODIs, the PCB unveiled a ‘Star Nation’ jersey for the ICC Cricket World Cup 2023, as per the PCB’s official website. The dark green jersey has two parallel lines of the lighter green shade at the bottom. The Pakistan Test team wears the regular jersey in whites while playing in the ICC World Test Championships.

Pakistan’s international grounds

The Pakistan cricket team represents the country of Pakistan situated in the sub-continent of Asia. According to the Pakistan Cricket Board’s official website, Pakistan will be hosting the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in February-March 2025.

Three matches are scheduled to be hosted at the National Bank Stadium, Karachi, and the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi.

The Gaddafi Stadium situated in Lahore will host a minimum of four games. Pakistan will be hosting an ICC event after 28 years.

*Last updated in Jan 2025