Mohsin Naqvi Defends Pakistan’s White-Ball Record Amid Criticism

PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has pushed back against calls to write off Pakistan cricket following a run of heavy defeats. He pointed to South Africa’s defeat to Namibia and India’s loss to Ireland as proof that no team is immune to shock results.

Naqvi’s defence rests almost entirely on Pakistan’s white-ball progress. On Test cricket, he was far more guarded, admitting the team’s performance in the format has been very poor. That contrast is the story of his latest interview.

What Mohsin Naqvi Said

• Pakistan’s ODI ranking has improved from 8th to 5th
• T20I ranking has risen from around 9th to 6th
• Pakistan won four of their last six ODI series
• T20I success rate improved from 24% to 73%
• “Rankings cannot move from 9th to 1st in three or six months”
• Selection mistakes happen, and those responsible will answer for them
• Test cricket performance has been “very poor”
• Some Test-related issues are being worked on, details not yet disclosed
• Critics can criticise losses but shouldn’t declare Pakistan cricket finished

Pakistan’s ICC Rankings August 2026

Format	Rank	Matches	Points	Rating
ODI	5th	32	3,215	100
T20I	6th	57	13,679	240
Test	8th	19	1,427	75

The white-ball numbers back up Naqvi’s claim. A jump from 8th to 5th in ODIs and 9th to 6th in T20Is is real movement, not a marginal shift. The Test ranking of 8th reflects exactly the concern Naqvi himself raised.

The Part of the Story Rankings Don’t Show

Rankings and bilateral series are one measure. Tournament results are another, and they haven’t matched the ranking improvement. Pakistan failed to reach the second round of the 2024 T20 World Cup, losing to Ireland and the USA along the way. They didn’t win a single match at the 2025 Champions Trophy and missed the semi-finals there too, then missed the semi-finals again at the 2026 T20 World Cup. Bilateral cricket added further setbacks: defeats to Zimbabwe in both ODIs and T20Is, a T20I loss and an ODI series defeat to Bangladesh, and an ODI defeat to Australia at home.

None of this technically contradicts the ranking figures. Rankings accumulate across dozens of matches, so a single tournament exit doesn’t reverse months of bilateral progress. But it explains why Naqvi’s defence, built almost entirely on rankings and series wins, leaves out the results people actually remember. Fans don’t recall where a team sits on a points table. They remember exits at World Cups and Champions Trophies, and on that measure Pakistan keep falling short.

Test Cricket Is Still the Problem

Naqvi didn’t try to defend the Test record. He called it very poor, no deflection.

Pakistan have just lost the first two Tests of their series against England heavily, and their Test ranking of 8th sits well below both white-ball formats. Naqvi said changes are being considered but gave no details, only that some matters can’t be disclosed until conclusions are reached.

What Naqvi Says Needs to Improve

• Selection: mistakes have happened, those responsible are accountable
• Credit and blame should be shared, not pinned on one person
• Internal work is underway on the Test team’s structure, unspecified
• Public criticism should be fact-based, not blanket dismissal of the team

What the Numbers Actually Show

Pakistan’s ODI and T20I rankings have genuinely improved, and Naqvi’s figures on series wins and success rate line up with that. The white-ball turnaround is real.

At the same time, ICC tournament results across the same period have been consistently poor, and the Test ranking sits well below white-ball, a gap Naqvi acknowledged rather than disputed. Both sets of facts are true at once. Rankings tell part of the story. Tournaments and Tests tell the rest.

Frequently Asked Questions

What did Mohsin Naqvi say in his latest interview? He defended Pakistan’s white-ball progress through improved rankings and series win rates, while admitting Test cricket has been very poor.

What is Pakistan’s current ODI ranking? 5th, with 3,215 points from 32 matches.

What is Pakistan’s current T20I ranking? 6th, with 13,679 points from 57 matches.

What is Pakistan’s current Test ranking? 8th, with 1,427 points from 19 matches.

What did Naqvi say about Test cricket specifically? He called the performance very poor and said some underlying issues are being worked on, without giving further detail.