By Imran Yousafzai
The year 2025, with all its turbulence and colour, has drawn to a close, giving way to a new year full of fresh hopes and expectations. How did Pakistan’s national cricket team fare over the past year? How many matches were played, how many won, and how many lost? This review attempts to answer these questions.
Interestingly, the beginning of 2025 closely resembled that of 2024. On both occasions, the Green Shirts opened the new year with a Test defeat. In 2024, Pakistan lost the final Test of the three-match series against Australia, while in 2025, a similar fate awaited them in the final Test of the three-match series against South Africa. Coincidentally, both matches concluded on the third day and were played on identical dates — January 3 to 5, in consecutive years.
Overall, Pakistan played a total of 57 international matches in 2025. Of these, the Shaheens registered 29 victories, suffered 27 defeats, while one match ended without a result. This gave the national side an overall win percentage of 50.87.
Breaking these figures down by format, Pakistan played five Test matches during the year, winning two and losing three, resulting in a 40 per cent success rate in the longest format. In One Day Internationals, the Green Shirts featured in 18 matches, winning seven and losing 10, while one match ended without a result. That abandoned fixture was the Champions Trophy match between Pakistan and Bangladesh at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium, which was washed out due to rain and strong winds. Pakistan’s win percentage in ODIs stood at 38.88.
In contrast, T20 Internationals proved to be Pakistan’s most successful format in 2025. The team played 34 T20Is, securing victories in 21 matches and losing 13, achieving an impressive win ratio of 61.74 per cent.
February saw Pakistan host a tri-nation series featuring New Zealand and South Africa. This was followed in March by the hosting of the ICC Champions Trophy — the first ICC event to be held in Pakistan after a gap of 29 years. Although Pakistan’s on-field performance in the Champions Trophy was disappointing, the successful hosting of such a prestigious tournament was, in itself, a highly encouraging development for the country.
After the Champions Trophy, Pakistan toured New Zealand, where the hosts dominated the five-match T20I series 4-1 and whitewashed Pakistan 3-0 in the ODI series. Bangladesh then toured Pakistan, and the Green Shirts clean-swept the visitors 3-0 in the T20I series. However, during Pakistan’s subsequent tour of Bangladesh, the hosts edged the three-match T20I series 2-1.
Pakistan then toured the West Indies, winning the three-match T20I series 2-1, while the hosts claimed the ODI series by the same margin. Later, the United Arab Emirates hosted a tri-nation series involving Pakistan and Afghanistan. Pakistan emerged victorious, winning four of the five matches.
The Asia Cup was played in the T20 format this year, with India as the host nation. However, just as India had refused to travel to Pakistan for the Champions Trophy and played their matches at a neutral venue, Pakistan’s Asia Cup matches were also held at neutral venues. Pakistan won four of their seven matches in the tournament and lost three.
South Africa later toured Pakistan for a full series comprising two Tests, three T20Is and three ODIs. The Test series ended in a 1-1 draw, while Pakistan won both the T20I and ODI series by 2-1 margins.
Pakistan also lifted the Hong Kong Super Sixes title, winning four of their five matches in the tournament. Towards the end of the year, Sri Lanka toured Pakistan for a three-match ODI series, which the Green Shirts won comprehensively, whitewashing the visitors 3-0.
Much like the start of the year, Pakistan concluded 2025 by hosting a tri-nation series. Originally, Sri Lanka and Afghanistan were scheduled to participate alongside Pakistan, but due to pressure from the Indian cricket board and heightened tensions related to Pak-Afghan border issues, Afghanistan withdrew. Zimbabwe was subsequently invited as the third team. Pakistan once again emerged champions, winning four of the five matches.
Among the year’s other notable achievements was Pakistan Shaheens’ triumph in the Asia Cup Rising Stars tournament. Adding to the celebrations, the junior Shaheens clinched the Under-19 Asia Cup title in the final days of the year. In a one-sided final, Pakistan Under-19 defeated arch-rivals India Under-19 by a massive margin of 191 runs to lift the title for the second time.
In every sense, 2025 proved to be a year of numerous successes for Pakistan cricket. All eyes will now be on the new year, which promises major challenges, including the ICC T20 World Cup and several other crucial assignments, to see how the national team builds on these performances.
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