Part 2 of our series on the 2025 International cricket review will showcase teams that disappointed us in 2025 in multiple formats.

While some teams performed well in 2025, a few teams struggled to find any stability, thus having an inconsistent 2025 season run.

While we closely analyse the performance trend of each team that failed in the 2025 season, lack of balance, leadership and a weak cricket board all had their roles to play for the debacle.

Teams may learn from the successful teams of 2025 and rewrite their fortune in the 2026 season.

Worst Teams in the 2025 International Calendar

Pakistan: Talent with no direction

It is surprising to see a team as talented as the Pakistan team not performing at the International stage for some years now. With such a huge Talent and fan base. The Pakistan team has been muddled by internal politics, power struggles at the Board level and overall instability in the region. The Board and the country have been under the influence of Military intervention, which has affected the overall focus on the game.

While Pakistan manages to produce young talent year on year, the team has struggled to work as a unit ever since they were mixed with match-fixing allegations.

The Team has struggled in 2025 for lack of continuity, lack of a strong leadership core and bogging down under pressure.

England Team Still not found the perfect formula

‘Bazball’ honeymoon period finally seems to come to an end by the end of 2025, with England having its worst year in the game. The aggressive style of England’s play continued to entertain cricket fans, but it showed very little result for the team. Results were mixed, and the execution in all formats showed a decline.

England’s ICC tournament performances have been poor, and wanting to continue to play their ultra-aggressive style of play in all three formats has been their downfall, along with shuffling captaincy in white-ball cricket. Their poor results in crucial matches have been their downfall. For England, 2025 was a year full of missed opportunities.

Bangladesh Team : Consistently Inconsistent

A team that has settled for mediocrity for a very long time, since they received their test status. The team in 2025 once again found the international calendar difficult, with no big wins. Bangladesh has been struggling in both batting and bowling, with the team desperately requiring some knee-jerk corrections.

The only silver lining for the year was some good results in home games, which kept the over optimistic cricket crazy fans some reason to celebrate.

Afghanistan Team: Progressing but at a snail’s pace

While making their name as giant killers in ICC tournaments, there is little to show as progress for this worn torn country . While team does unearth some raw talent, lack of competitive games especially bilaterals tournaments have not helped their cause. The team is good in T20 format especially while defending totals which clearly shows their batting vulnerability which has stalled their progress in the 2025 International calendar season.

Summary- Why teams Struggle

Due to limited fixtures for lower-ranked teams, especially in bilateral series, these teams end up playing weak opponents that do not help improve the standard of the game. While some teams have a strong, rich board, they lack young talent, and the poorer boards lack the infrastructure to nurture talent.

Modern Cricket is successful only if it is run in a systematic order, which includes strong teams preferring to play with stronger opponents. Resources are well used, and players are identified in various formats according to their skill sets.

Weaker boards will need to promote cricket aggressively at the domestic level and not rely on individual brilliance to have a consistent run in the international calendar.

Broadcasting and money in the game will only be coming in when national teams are competitive and can bring large crowds back into the stadiums.

India, Australia, and New Zealand have maintained a standard for other teams to follow. Weaker teams like Pakistan, Bangladesh, etc., need to understand and bring in the necessary changes to improve their cricket.