After being swept 3-0 in the Test series in England, which pushed them further down at the bottom of the WTC points table, Pakistan have been hit with an over-rate penalty for going slow in the third and final Test at Edgbaston.
Pakistan were ruled to be 11 overs short of the target after time allowances were taken into consideration during the match, an ICC statement on Monday said, which meant a whopping 11-point deduction. The team was also fined 50% of their match fee.
All they have at the end of the series, as a result, is a total of 5 points (4.63 points percentage), which puts them well below West Indies, who are at No. 8 with 30 points (20.83 points percentage). After they lost the opening Test of the England tour, at Headingley, Pakistan slipped from No. 8 to No. 9.
Pakistan have two more series to play in the WTC 2025-cycle, against Sri Lanka in November this year, and against New Zealand in March 2027. West Indies, meanwhile, have a series lined up against Bangladesh in October this year.
It has been a horror phase for Pakistan in Test cricket. They have won just two of their nine Tests in the cycle so far, and there was a massive overhaul to the squad after they lost the second Test in England, at Lord's, by 194 runs. Seven players, including Mohammad Rizwan, Salman Agha and Imam-ul-Haq, were sent home after the second Test, along with Sarfaraz Ahmed, the head coach of the Test side, and Umar Gul, the bowling coach.