Pakistan is currently ranked seventh in the ICC Test rankings and has never qualified for the WTC final.
The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has reportedly decided to oppose the proposed two-tier structure in Test cricket. There are fears that Pakistan may get relegated to the second division.
While the possibility of a two-tier Test cricket system has been doing rounds for a while, a major step towards making it a reality was reportedly taken at the recently held ICC Annual General Meeting (AGM).
A special committee, comprising eight members, was formed to propose solutions regarding the issues around the different formats of the game. The group would reportedly be led by ICC CEO Sanjog Gupta and includes England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) CEO Richard Gould and Cricket Australia chief Todd Greenberg.
The committee is expected to explore the possibility of creating a two-tier Test cricket system and the proposal for the same could be presented by the end of 2025.
The current nine-team system is likely to be divided into two tiers of six teams each and may come into effect from the 2027-2029 World Test Championship (WTC) cycle. However, for the two-tier Test cricket system to become a reality, the proposal would have to need a two-thirds majority vote from the ICC’s 12 full members.
Pakistan, which is currently ranked seventh in the ICC Test rankings and has never qualified for the WTC final, could end up as one of the teams in the second division.
Pakistan finished at the bottom in the WTC standings for the 2023-25 cycle. They are yet to play a single Test match in the ongoing WTC 2025-27 cycle, with their first assignment scheduled against South Africa in October 2025.
Amid the recent development, media reports in Pakistan have claimed that PCB will vehemently oppose the two-tier system in Test cricket.
As per a report in The Tribune, PCB is against the “growing dominance of elite cricketing nations”; however, the fears that the Pakistan team will be relegated to the second division cannot be ruled out.
“Cricket is not the property of just a few powerful nations,” a senior PCB official told The Tribune. “Smaller teams can only improve if they are given regular opportunities to play against top-level competition.”
The PCB official went on to add that Pakistan “may secure its place in Division One,” but a two-tier system will hinder the progress of developing cricket nations.
“What will happen to Bangladesh and West Indies? How will they improve by only playing each other?” the official asked.