KARACHI: Pakistan will visit South Africa for a two Tests, three One-day Internationals and as many T20Is in December-January, the countries’ cricket boards confirmed on Friday.

Durban, Centurion, and Johannesburg will host the T20Is from December 10-14 while the ODIs will be played from December 17-22 in Paarl, Cape Town, and Johannesburg.

The two Test matches, part of the ongoing cycle of the ICC World Test Championship cycle, will be held at Centurion (December 26-30) and Cape Town (January 3-7).

Pakistan’s tour to South Africa is part of the Future Tours Programme 2023-2027. Dawn understands the discussions between the Pakistan Cricket Board and Cricket south Africa started well before the FTP was finalised, while discussions for the Dec-Jan tour commenced earlier this year. After all formalities were completed, the schedule was announced on Friday.

The tour will follow Pakistan’s visit to Australia, in which the national side will play three ODIs and as many T20Is from November 14-18.

After completing the South Africa tour on January 8, the national side will take on New Zealand and South Africa in a three-nation ODI tournament on home turf, which will be followed by the eight-team ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Pakistan.

Prior to the tours of Australia and South Africa, Pakistan will host Bangladesh and England for two and three Tests, respectively. This means they will play seven Tests, minimum of 10 ODIs, and six T20Is in the six-month period from August 2024 to January 2025.

It is unlikely that Pakistan will get to play more ODIs to potentially boost their preparation for the Champions Trophy, given that there is no window from now till the tournament.

All major teams have international cricket lined up as per their respective Future Tour Programs during the period.

South Africa play Tests against Sri Lanka in Durban and Gqeberha before Pakistan arrive.

Unlike earlier this year there will be no clash between any of the Test series and Cricket South Africa’s flagship SA20 competition, which is vital to its financial future.

The 2024 edition overlapped with a two-Test series in New Zealand, which meant South Africa controversially sent a much weakened squad for the matches and were well beaten in both.

The England women’s side will have an all-formats tour that includes three T20 matches (Nov. 24-30), three ODIs (Dec. 4-11) and a single Test in Bloemfontein (Dec. 15-18).

Schedule:

Dec. 10: First T20I, Durban

Dec. 13: Second T20I, Centurion

Dec. 14: Third T20I, Johannesburg

Dec. 17: First ODI, Paarl

Dec. 19: Second ODI, Cape Town

Dec. 22: Third ODI, Johannesburg

Dec 26-30: First Test, Centurion

Jan 3-7: Second Test, Cape Town

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2024