Pakistan National Cricket Team

Pakistan National Cricket Team: Current Squad

Azhar Ali Batsman TEST ODI T20I №

Babar Azam Batsman TEST ODI T20I № 56

Faheem Ashraf Bowler TEST ODI T20I № 41

Fakhar Zaman Batsman TEST ODI T20I № 39

Hasan Ali Bowler TEST ODI T20I № 32

Imad Wasim All-rounder ODI T20I № 9

Imam-ul-Haq Batsman TEST ODI T20I № 26

Mohammad Abbas Bowler TEST ODI T20I № 38

Mohammad Rizwan Wicket-Keeper TEST ODI T20I №

Shaheen Afridi Bowler TEST ODI T20I № 40

Pakistan National Cricket Team: Facts and Records

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Pakistan National Cricket Team - men's national cricket team

The Pakistan national cricket team is a member of the International Cricket Council, which gives it the right to play in tests, as well as in international competitions such as One Day International and T20I. The Pakistan Cricket Board oversees the national team. Read about the history of cricket development in Pakistan and the main professional achievements of the national team in our article.

Pakistan national cricket team: a history of cricket development

The Republic of Pakistan is located on the territory of South Asia. The state itself was formed in 1947 as a result of the partition of British India. Therefore, cricket itself appeared long before this historical event. It was brought by the British, who lived on colonized lands at the beginning of the 20th century.

The first international cricket match, which was recorded by history, was held on November 22 in 1935. The game was held in Karachi, and the opponents were the team of Sindh, one of the four provinces of Pakistan, and the Australian national team. 5 thousand spectators attended the match.

When Pakistan became an independent republic, cricket began to develop rapidly throughout the country. In 1952, the country received a status that allowed it to take part in test matches. During the same period, the first test match was played in the autumn against Delhi. As history shows, the first captain of the Pakistan national cricket team was Abdul Hafeez Kardar.

Pakistan held its first international test tour in England in 1954. And the Pakistanis hosted their first home match in 1955 when they hosted a team from India. The game ended in a draw.

On February 11, 1973, the Pakistan national cricket team made its debut in the One Day International. On August 28, 2006, Pakistan made its first appearance at the T20.

The Pakistan national cricket team has its own big fan club, which is called Stani Army. It was formed in 1987. The fans are very supportive of the team and travel for it.

Due to the prevailing military situation in Pakistan, the country had suspended all cricket matches held on the side of the Pakistanis for 10 years from 2009 to 2019. Until 2016, home matches were held mainly in the UAE.

Pakistan national cricket team: the main achievements

According to the latest statistics, the national team of Pakistan took part in:

• 437 test matches, in which it collected 142 wins, 162 draws and 133 losses.
• 933 matches of One Day International, where it was able to win 490 matches, draw 9 matches, and lose 414. Twenty games were considered inconclusive by the umpire.
• 170 Twenty20 Internationals matches, where it won 104 matches, took 3 draws and lost in 61 games.

The main achievements of the Pakistan national cricket team:

• In 1986, it won the first Austral-Asia Cup. The team repeated its success in 1990 and 1994.
• In 1988, it was recognized as the No. 1 team in Tests.
• In 1989, it won the only Nehru Cup.
• Won the ODI Cricket World Cup in 1992.
• In 1999, it took second place at the World Cup champion.
• In 2000, it took the Asia Cup trophy. In 2012, it won the title for the second time.
• In 2007, it took second place at the ICC World Twenty20.
• In 2009, it became the champion at the ICC World T20.
• In 2016, it was again recognized as the No. 1 team in Tests.
• In 2017, the team took the ICC Champions Trophy.

Pakistan national cricket team: current squad, coaches

The average age of those playing for the Pakistan national cricket team ranges from about 27-28 years. In total, there are 35 athletes in reserve:

• Captain for Tests, One Day International and Twenty20, playing in the position of top-order batsman: Babar Azam.
• Vice-captain for One Day International and Twenty20, playing in the position of an all-rounder: Shadab Khan.
• Vice-captain in Tests, playing in the position of wicket-keeper batsman: Mohammad Rizman.
• Top-order batsmen (7): Haider Ali, Abid Ali, Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique, Imam-ul-Haq, Fakhar Zaman.
• Middle-order batsmen (6): Haris Sohail, Asad Shafiq, Fawad Alam, Hussain Talat, Khushdil Shah, Asif Ali.
• All-rounder (6): Iftikhar Ahmed, Imad Wasim, Mohammad Hafeez, Shoad Malik, Faheem Ashraf, Mohammad Nawaz.
• Wicket-keepers (1): Sarfaraz Ahmed.
• Pace bowlers (9): Shaheen Shah Afridi, Mohammad Abbas, Naseem Shah, Usman Shinwari, Mohammad Hasnain, Haris Rauf, Hasan Ali, Wahab Riaz, Musa Khan.
• Spin bowlers (3): Yasir Shah, Zafar Gohar, Usman Qadir. 

The head coach of the national team is Misbah-ul-Haq. Younis Khan trains the batsmen, and Waqar Younis trains the bowlers. Abdul Majeed is responsible for fielding. 

Pakistan national cricket team: stadiums, logo, uniforms, nicknames

The Pakistan national cricket team has 24 stadiums throughout the country. 

 The logo of the Pakistan national cricket team is a mustard or gold star on a green background. In the center of the star, “Pakistan” is written in Urdu.

In test matches, the Pakistan national cricket team is required to wear a white uniform. In addition to it, a sweater or a vest can go in case of cold weather. On the sleeves of the players, the star of Pakistani cricket is depicted on the left side.

Athletes who play in the One Day International and Twenty20 tournaments usually wear a green uniform. The baseball cap also has a green color, and the hat is white.

The nicknames of the Pakistan national cricket team are Shaheens, Green Shirts, Men in Green, Cornered Tigers.

Pakistan national cricket team: scandals

The Pakistan national cricket team has often been involved in scandalous situations. In 2007, Pakistan participated in the Cricket World Cup. Then the team in the first round unexpectedly lost to the newcomer of the championship – the national team of Ireland. The next day, the head coach of the Pakistani national team, Bob Woolmer, suddenly dies. During the investigation, the Jamaican police found that the man’s death was caused by strangulation. Of course, all the players who represented Pakistan were automatically suspected in the murder case. This event stirred up the public a little, but three days later, all suspicions were removed, and detectives came to the conclusion that Woolmer still died of natural causes. The case was closed.

In 2009, a bus with players from Sri Lanka, heading to a match hosted by the national team of Pakistan at the Gaddafi Stadium, was fired at by 12 militants. As a result of the attack, six national team members were injured, and six more Pakistani policemen and two civilians were killed. It was from that moment that Pakistan stopped hosting cricket competitions for 10 years.

In 2010, several players of the Pakistan national cricket team were accused of participating in match-fixing. They were bowlers Mohammad Asif and Mohammad Amir, as well as skipper Salman Butt. The athletes were sentenced to prison terms ranging from 6 to 30 months.

Pakistan women’s National Cricket Team

As for the Pakistan women’s national cricket team, unlike many other countries where women perform much more successfully than men, the situation in Pakistan has the opposite side. First, the women’s team has a lower status than the men’s team. Therefore, athletes earn a priori much less. Secondly, the women’s national team does not have such a busy schedule of cricket games.

The national team played its first match in 1997 when it was invited to New Zealand and Australia tour. The most impressive achievements of the women’s team were demonstrated in 2005 at the Asian Cup, where the team took 3rd place.

The Pakistan National Cricket Team is one of the strongest teams in the world, which is very interesting for fans to follow. We regularly publish cricket tips for betting, including for the “Men in Green”.