Pakistan’s chances of qualifying for the World Test Championship (WTC) final 2025 seem to be challenging, but not impossible, as they rank in 5th position in the points table as of August 2024. With 22 points and a PCT (Points Percentage System) of 36.66, Pakistan is left with 9 Test matches, which includes 7 at home and 2 overseas.
Team India under Rohit Sharma’s captaincy is once again set to reach the World Test Championship 2025 finals for the third time, holding the top position in the points table. Also, fans are wondering if they could watch the epic clash of India vs Pakistan in the upcoming WTC final.
Moreover, Pakistan failed to qualify for any two of the World Test Championship finals (in 2019 and 2021) so far. As the first two teams in the points table qualify for the grand contest, let’s find out Pakistan’s chances of playing the WTC 2025 final at the iconic Lord’s Cricket Ground.
Why did Pakistan fail to qualify for the WTC Finals in 2019 and 2021?
One of the main reasons why Pakistan failed to qualify for the two World Test Championship finals was the inability to adapt to the overseas pitch conditions against the competitive teams. Mainly, the Pakistani cricketers lost a few crucial series since they weren’t able to make use of the pitch conditions on their homeground.
In the first cycle of WTC from 2019 to 2021, Pakistan concluded in fifth position with just 4 wins out of 12 matches. Whereas, in the second cycle between 2021-23, Pakistan ranked at the seventh position by winning 4 out of 14 test matches.
Pakistan Cricket Team Performance: WTC 2019-21 vs WTC 2021-23
Here is the comparison of Pakistan’s performance in Home and Away venues for both WTC cycles tabulated below:
| S.No | Test Series played during 2019-21 Cycle | WTC 2019-21 Cycle Result | Test Series played during 2021-23 Cycle | WTC 2021-23 Result |
| 1 | 2-match test series vs Australia (Away) | Lost to Australia by 0-2 | 2-match test series vs West Indies (Away) | Series Drawn by 1-1 |
| 2 | 2-match Test Series vs Sri Lanka (Home) | Series Drawn by 1-1 | 2-match test series vs Bangladesh (Away) | Won against Bangladesh by 2-0 |
| 3 | 2-match Test Series vs Bangladesh (Home) | Won against Bangladesh by 1-0 | 3-match test series vs Australia (Home) | Lost to Australia by 0-1 |
| 4 | 3-match Test Series vs England (Away) | Lost to England by 0-1 | 2-match test series vs Sri Lanka (Away) | Series Drawn by 1-1 |
| 5 | 2-match Test Series vs New Zealand (Away) | Lost to New Zealand by 0-2 | 3-match test series vs England (Home) | Lost to England by 0-3 |
| 6 | 2-match Test Series vs South Africa (Home) | Won against South Africa by 2-0 | 2-match test series vs New Zealand (Home) | Series Drawn (0-0) |
Especially, during the WTC cycle 2021-23, Pakistan weren’t able to win any of the 8 matches on their homeground, which included 6 losses and 2 draw results.
Pakistan’s Chances to Qualify for WTC Final 2023-25
Despite Pakistan starting the World Test Championship 2023-25 cycle with a dominating win in a 2-match test series against Sri Lanka by 2-0 under Babar Azam’s captaincy, it is a huge challenge for them to qualify for the forthcoming finals. After facing a humiliating clean sweep in the 3-match test series against Australia by 0-3 under Shan Masood’s captaincy, Pakistan currently hangs in the 5th position in the WTC 2023-25 points table.
However, Pakistan still has chances to be one of the top contenders to seal its spot in the WTC 2025 finals in the following ways:
1. Perform Well in the Home Test Series:
Pakistan needs to win 7 out of 9 matches to keep themselves active in the hunt to qualify for the WTC 2025 final. Interestingly, Shan Masood’s led side has 7 upcoming test games on the homeground against these opposition teams:
- 2-match series vs Bangladesh in August–September 2024.
- 3-match series vs England in October 2024.
- 2-match series vs West Indies in January 2025.
As each team gets 12 points for winning a test match, Pakistan needs to take advantage of the homeground conditions to win all 7 matches and move higher in the rankings to secure the top two positions in the points table. This helps them to secure a spot in the WTC 2025 final. Most importantly, Pakistan needs to win the 3-match test series against England to eliminate Ben Stokes’ led side from the race.
2. Australia’s Performance in the Border Gavaskar Trophy 2025:
The features the 5-match test series between Australia and India from 22nd November 2024 to 7th January 2025. Moreover, the Aussies are the top competitors to enter the finals. If India accomplishes success by a huge margin of 5-0, 4-0, or 4-1 in the upcoming series in Australia, then it would result in the defending champions dropping in the rankings in the points table.
This results in Pakistan’s chances to participate in the WTC final at Lord’s, only if they manage to deliver an exceptional performance in their remaining games.
3. Success in Overseas Test Series:
Pakistan needs to win at least one out of the two-match test series against South Africa from 26th December 2024 to 7th January 2025 and try not to surrender themselves to overseas pitch conditions. This helps to strengthen their position in the World Test Championship points table among the other top teams that are still alive in the race such as New Zealand and Sri Lanka.
Overall Facts:
With nine matches remaining for Pakistan in the ongoing WTC cycle, Shan Masood and his men will focus on a dynamic approach in red-ball cricket in terms of batting, bowling, and fielding.
Also, India needs to win 5 out of 10 matches to enter the WTC 2025 finals. Ultimately, fans are excited not only to witness Pakistan play their maiden WTC final, but also to enjoy the intense clash of IND vs PAK to lift the prestigious ICC trophy in the test format.