Can Pakistan Still Qualify for World Test Championship Final After Points Deduction?

Pakistan cricket team has been in a horrid run of form as they have consistently failed to perform in every format over the past year. The Men in Green, after having lost to Afghanistan in the ODI World Cup last year, suffering a defeat against Ireland in a T20I match and a shock loss against USA in the T20I World Cup, suffered their worst defeat recently as they lost the first Test against Bangladesh in Rawalpindi.

This was the first time in their history that Bangladesh defeated Pakistan in a Test match, and that too on Pakistan’s home turf. The Green Shirts were completely outplayed in all three departments as Bangladesh reminded them how to play a Test match in Pakistan.

A 10-wicket loss was already an embarrassing result for Pakistan, but things got from bad to worse as they were deducted a further 6 points in the World Test Championship by the International Cricket Council due to slow over rate. This was expected to happen after Pakistan fielded four pacers in the first Test, a decision that had left many fans baffled prior to the start of the Test.

Before the start of the series, Pakistan had a tough task to qualify for the finals of the prestigious WTC final as they had to win seven out of their remaining nine Tests in the cycle. A 2-0 win was a must for Pakistan in the series as they had to get five more wins out of three Tests against England and two each against West Indies and South Africa, already a monumental ask.

The Men in Green now have to win each of their eight remaining Tests to qualify for the Final of the WTC, so it is safe to say that the team should start preparing for the next WTC cycle and take these remaining eight Tests to plan for the next one. As for the fans, don’t keep much hope for the next cycle as well.

Here is the current WTC points table: