Pakistan played its first match at the Cricket World Cup on June 7, 1975 against Australia and was captained by Asif Iqbal. The Falcons will go on to have a colorful outing across successive Cricket World Cup berths from 1979 to the present day (2023).
Pakistan’s cricket team was recognized for Test cricket matches after an induction into the Imperial Cricket Conference in England on July 28 1952. The team was recommended for induction by India and went on to face other recognized members after the first meeting with India in October 1952.
Pakistan has a rich history in the Cricket World Cup and other tournaments. Let’s see their overall performance and how many titles the team have in their cabinet since 1952.
Pakistan’s Record in the Cricket World Cup
Pakistan has had a colorful outing overall at the Cricket World Cup since their 1975 debut. See the complete timeline of Pakistan’s performance at successive Cricket World Cup tournaments below:
England 1975 Cricket World Cup
Pakistan debuted in the Cricket World Cup at this tournament. The team will go on to play 3 games, winning 1 match against Sri Lanka and losing 2 games against Australia and New Zealand respectively.
England 1979 Cricket World Cup
Asif Iqbal was the captain of Pakistan’s return cricket team to the 1979 World Cup. The team played 4 games at this event, winning and losing 2 matches. Pakistan made it to their first-ever World Cup final at this tournament.
England and Wales 1983 Cricket World Cup
Former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Imran Khan, captained the team to their third appearance at a Cricket World Cup in 1983. The team will go on to appear at the semi-finals after winning 3 out of 7 games played.
India and Pakistan 1987 Cricket World Cup
Imran Khan captained Pakistan for the second World Cup at the co-hosted event with India in 1987. The team progressed to the semi-finals before crashing out for a third consecutive time.
Australia and New Zealand 1992 Cricket World Cup
Pakistan played 10 games at Australia/N. Zealand 1992 and went on to become champions. Imran Khan captained the world-dominating side to glory, recording a +50 PCT on the way to their first title.
India, Pakistan, and Sri Lanka 1996 Cricket World Cup
Wasim Akram captained Pakistan at this tournament. They were only able to progress to the quarter-finals before crashing out as defending champions.
UK and Netherlands 1999 Cricket World Cup
England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, and The Netherlands came together to host the Cricket World Cup in 1999. The team were runners-up at this tournament, narrowly missing out on a second title after a strong campaign.
South Africa, Zimbabwe, and Kenya 2003 Cricket World Cup
Pakistan crashed out at the group stages of this tournament in Africa, losing 50% of their 6 games played along the way. Waqar Younis was the captain of this underperforming Pakistani side.
West Indies 2007 Cricket World Cup
Pakistan will again crash out at the group stages for the second time running, losing to a lowly Ireland team. Controversy clouded their exit from this event as the team’s head coach was killed a day after the team crashed out.
India, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka 2011 Cricket World Cup
Shahid Afridi led Bangladesh to the semi-finals at this tournament. They had a strong showing throughout, losing just 2 out of 8 matches played.
Australia and New Zealand 2015 Cricket World Cup
Misbah-ul-Haq captained Pakistan to a quarter final exit at this campaign with a 42 PCT.
England and Wales 2019 Cricket World Cup
Sarfaraz Ahmed was the skipper for Pakistan’s underperforming side at the 2019 Cricket World Cup. The team crashed out at the group stages, failing to win over 60% of total games played.
Pakistan’s Record in ICC Tournaments
Pakistan is one of very few nations to ever win each of the main ICC international tournaments in their history. The Men in Green have been able to win an ICC World Cup, ICC T20 World Cup, and ICC Champions Trophy.
These achievements happened across three decades (1990s – 2010s), making Pakistan one of the most consistent international teams according to trophies won.
Pakistan’s Troubles with the ICC
An increase in terror activities from 2008 in Pakistan led to a blanket boycott from touring the country for international cricket matches. An attack on the Sri Lankan senior cricket team led to a wider boycott of international Test cricket games held in Pakistan. ICC members opted to play games against Pakistan in the UAE from 2009 to 2019. However, successive tours to Pakistan resumed in 2015 with teams from Zimbabwe and The West Indies touring Pakistani cities to play cricket
