West Indies Cricket Team vs Pakistan National Cricket Team Standings 2026

West Indies Cricket Team vs Pakistan National Cricket Team Standings 2026: Schedule, Squads and Head-to-Head Record

Pakistan’s men are back in the Caribbean for a two-match Test series against the West Indies, a contest that arrives at a pivotal moment for both sides in the 2025-27 World Test Championship cycle. With a new-look Pakistan side under a returning captain, a spirited young West Indies team building momentum at home, and a rivalry that has produced draw after nail-biting draw over the past decade, this series promises to be one of the more closely fought Test contests of the year.

Here is everything you need to know about the West Indies vs Pakistan Test series 2026 — the schedule, squads, current WTC standings, and the complete head-to-head record between the two teams.

Series Overview: Dates and Venues

The two-match Test series runs from July 25 to August 6, 2026, with both matches hosted in Trinidad. Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies is part of Cricket West Indies’ broader 2026 home international season, which also features Sri Lanka and New Zealand visiting the Caribbean this year.

1st Test: July 25–29, 2026 — Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba 2nd Test: August 2–6, 2026 — Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain

Ahead of the series, Pakistan warmed up with a four-day tour match against a West Indies Select XI in Port of Spain from July 18–21, which ended in a draw. The tourists posted a commanding total before declaring, with centuries from Babar Azam and uncapped opener Azan Awais giving the batting unit valuable time in the middle. On the bowling side, Mohammad Ali claimed a five-wicket haul to disrupt the home side’s batting lineup, a promising sign for Pakistan’s revamped pace attack heading into the series proper.

Once the two Tests are done, Pakistan will travel on to England for a three-match series beginning August 19, meaning this Caribbean assignment also functions as a crucial tune-up before a much bigger red-ball assignment later in the northern summer.

Squads: A New Captain for Pakistan, Continuity for West Indies

The headline selection story ahead of this series is at the top of the Pakistan set-up. Shan Masood has been removed as Test captain, with Babar Azam returning for his second stint in charge of the red-ball side. Babar has said his focus during this transition is on discipline, fitness and performance as he looks to arrest Pakistan’s poor recent record in Tests away from home.

Pakistan’s 16-member squad for the West Indies leg blends senior campaigners with several uncapped faces. Babar Azam leads a group that includes Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Fazal, Azan Awais, Imam-ul-Haq, Mohammad Rizwan and Salman Ali Agha, alongside four uncapped players handed their maiden call-ups: left-arm spinner Ali Usman, batter Muhammad Awais Zafar, fast bowler Ubaid Shah and wicketkeeper-batter Muhammad Ghazi Ghori. Middle-order batter Saud Shakeel has been left out of the West Indies leg because of fitness concerns, though he is expected to be available again for the England tour that follows. Pakistan have also refreshed their pace attack, with Mohammad Ali, Aamir Jamal and Ubaid Shah forming a new-look bowling unit as the team looks to fix its away-from-home struggles in Test cricket.

For West Indies, Roston Chase continues in charge of the Test team, having captained the side through their recent home matches, with head coach Daren Sammy overseeing preparations. Chase was managing some lingering swelling in his hand after missing a recent ODI series through injury, but the West Indies camp has expressed confidence that he will be fit to lead the side in the series opener. The Brian Lara Cricket Academy pitch in Tarouba is expected to be on the slower, more balanced side — offering some early assistance to pacers before turning increasingly helpful for spin as the match wears on, which could shape team combinations on both sides.

Current ICC World Test Championship Standings

Both teams enter this series at very different points on the WTC 2025-27 table, and the result here could meaningfully shift the picture for each.

Pakistan currently sit in fifth place in the nine-team standings, having played two matches for one win and one loss, giving them a points percentage of 50.00. It has been an inconsistent start to the cycle for Pakistan, following a difficult period that included home series defeats and a leadership change.

West Indies, by contrast, are anchored at the bottom of the table. From eight matches they have managed just one win against five losses and two draws, leaving them with a points percentage of only 4.17 — comfortably the lowest in the entire championship. Australia lead the standings on 87.50 percent, with New Zealand and South Africa close behind in second and third.

For West Indies, this series represents an important opportunity to arrest a difficult run of form in the current cycle and start accumulating points before tougher assignments later in the cycle. For Pakistan, a series win in the Caribbean — somewhere they have historically found success — would be a timely confidence boost for a team trying to build stability under new leadership, while a slip-up would drag their percentage back down the table.

Head-to-Head Record: A Rivalry Defined by Tight Contests

Across the three major formats, Pakistan hold the overall historical advantage over the West Indies, though the margins are thinner than many casual fans might expect — and the story shifts depending on the format.

Test matches: Of 56 Tests played between the two sides, Pakistan have won 22 to West Indies’ 19, with 15 matches ending in draws. It is the tightest of the three formats and the one where the West Indies have most consistently pushed Pakistan close, especially in home conditions in the Caribbean.

One Day Internationals: Here the historical picture flips. From 140 ODIs, West Indies actually lead with 73 wins to Pakistan’s 64, with three matches ending with no result — a legacy of the West Indies’ dominant white-ball sides through the 1980s, 90s and 2000s.

T20 Internationals: Pakistan have asserted clear control in the shortest format, winning 15 of 21 completed T20Is against West Indies’ 3, with 3 more ending without a result.

Recent Test Meetings Tell the Real Story

Zoom into the last two Test series between these sides and a pattern emerges: both have ended in 1-1 draws, decided by fine margins in the final innings.

The two teams last met in a Test series in January 2025 in Multan, where Pakistan won the first match before West Indies, inspired by a strong performance from Jomel Warrican, fought back to level the series 1-1 in the second Test — a result that ultimately proved costly for Pakistan, who finished bottom of that WTC cycle’s standings as a consequence.

Before that, Pakistan’s previous tour of the West Indies in August 2021 followed an almost identical script: a one-wicket West Indies victory in the opening Test at Sabina Park was answered by a convincing Pakistan win in the second match, again leaving the series tied 1-1.

That history of tight, series-deciding finishes is a large part of why this rematch carries extra intrigue. Neither side has been able to land a decisive series win over the other in their last two meetings, and both will be desperate to break that pattern — Pakistan to justify the faith shown in Babar Azam’s return to the captaincy, and West Indies to give their WTC campaign some much-needed momentum on home soil.

West Indies Cricket Team vs Pakistan National Cricket Team Standings 2026

What to Watch For

A few storylines are worth following as the series unfolds:

Babar Azam’s second stint as captain: How Pakistan’s dressing room responds to the leadership change, and whether Babar’s own form with the bat holds up under the added responsibility, will shape the tone of the tour.

Pakistan’s revamped pace attack: With Mohammad Ali, Aamir Jamal and uncapped quick Ubaid Shah leading the bowling, Pakistan are taking a notably different approach after a string of poor overseas results — Ali’s five-wicket haul in the warm-up game is an early sign of promise.

Roston Chase’s fitness: West Indies will be monitoring their captain closely after his recent injury layoff, given how central he is to both the batting order and the spin-bowling responsibilities he shares with vice-captain Jomel Warrican.

Conditions at Tarouba and Port of Spain: Both venues have historically offered something for seamers early before turning into more balanced, occasionally spin-friendly surfaces — a factor that could dictate team selection, especially around the number of frontline spinners each side picks.

WTC implications: With West Indies rooted at the bottom of the table and Pakistan looking to climb from mid-table, both results and margins of victory matter for the bigger picture of the 2025-27 cycle.

Conclusion

The West Indies vs Pakistan Test series 2026 arrives with genuine stakes attached: a West Indies side fighting to escape the bottom of the World Test Championship table on home turf, and a Pakistan side trying to find its footing under a returning captain ahead of a bigger tour of England. Recent history between these two teams suggests fans should expect a hard-fought contest rather than a one-sided affair — the last two series between them have both finished level, decided by the smallest of margins in the fourth innings. With the first ball set to be bowled at the Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba on July 25, all eyes will be on whether Pakistan’s new-look attack and leadership can finally deliver a series win in the Caribbean, or whether West Indies can once again find a way to level the score at home.

Pakistan vs West Indies Test Series 2026 Player