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The Pakistan National Cricket Team has been slapped with a huge punishment for maintaining a slow over rate during the third and final Test against England at Edgbaston in Birmingham. This came after the touring side was whitewashed by England in the three-match Test series 3-0 recently.
Days after facing the embarrassment, the International Cricket Council (ICC) has handed a double blow to the Pakistan National Cricket Team for maintaining a slow over-rate in Birmingham. Earlier, Dinesh Karthik raises alarm over Pakistan’s Test crisis after England humiliation.
Pakistan handed huge punishment after slow over-rate
Pakistan’s disastrous England tour has ended with another setback as they have now been hit with a heavy penalty for a slow over-rate in the final Test at Edgbaston.
Pakistan have been fined 50% of their match fee, while 11 crucial ICC World Test Championship (WTC) points have also been deducted for the over-rate violation.
The touring side bowled 89 overs in their first innings at Edgbaston but were found to be 11 overs short of the required number after all time allowances were considered. Under the WTC rules, teams lose one point for every over they fall short.
The players were also punished under the ICC Code of Conduct, which carries a 5% match-fee fine for every over missed. Since the maximum fine is capped at 50%, Pakistan players received the full penalty. Amid this, Mohsin Naqvi refuses to budge after India Women’s Asia Cup 2026 trophy snub.
Pakistan’s last-minute changes show some fight at Edgbaston
The sanctions come after a tough tour for Pakistan. England completed a 3-0 series sweep, with the hosts winning the final Test at Edgbaston by eight wickets. Pakistan had already faced major changes during the tour. Seven players were sent back home after the second Test at Lord’s.
Even the head coach Sarfaraz Ahmed was also removed. White-ball coach Mike Hesson then took charge of the team on an interim basis for the Birmingham Test. However, these changes worked some favor for them, as they have shown some fight in the final.
Pakistan’s WTC Final hopes over after ICC's 11-point blow
Pakistan was already at the bottom of the WTC points table before the penalty. The 11-point deduction has now pushed their points percentage down to just 4.63 after nine Tests across four series in the current cycle.
Following the England tour, Pakistan has effectively lost even the smallest mathematical chance of reaching the WTC final. They will next host Sri Lanka for a two-test series in November. They are also scheduled to host New Zealand for a Test series in 2027, where they can rebuild the team.
Former Pakistan cricketers have been strongly criticized for the team’s setup after a disastrous 3-0 Test series loss in England. The poor performance was so bad that British media labelled Pakistan as one of the worst teams to tour England in the last 50 years.
Wasim Akram, Shahid Afridi, and Mushtaq Ahmed all expressed serious concern over the team’s condition. Akram feels the problems were visible years ago, and Afridi highlighted the treatment of the players, while Mushtaq believes fixing Pakistan cricket will take a long time.
