Pakistan will host South Africa for a series of test, one-day international (ODI) and Twenty-20 international (T20I) matches from October to November, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) announced on Saturday.
In a press release, the PCB said that Pakistan’s new cycle of the ICC World Test Championship will begin with this visit by the Proteas, with the first test starting on October 12 in Lahore.
“The first Test will be played at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium from October 12-16, which will also be the first five-day match at the stadium since its complete renovation earlier this year to host the ICC Champions Trophy 2025,” the PCB stated. “The second Test match is scheduled to take place at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from October 20-24.”
According to the press release, this will be the visitors’ first tour to Pakistan since 2021, where they lost a test series 2-0.
“At the conclusion of the red-ball matches, both sides will feature in three T20Is from October 28 to November 1, with the first T20I taking place at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, while the remaining two T20Is will be hosted at the Gaddafi Stadium,” the press release read.
“The series will conclude with three ODIs taking place from 4 to 8 November at the Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad.”
The PCB stated that this will be the first ODI played at Iqbal Stadium in 17 years, with the last match having been held on April 11, 2008, when Pakistan defeated Bangladesh by seven wickets.
PCB Chief Operating Officer Sumair Ahmed Syed said that he was looking forward to hosting South Africa, adding that hosting the World Test Champions “will provide quality cricket for our players and fans”.
“The return of ODI cricket to Faisalabad after 17 years is a special moment,“ he was quoted as saying in the press release. Iqbal Stadium holds a proud place in our cricketing history and we are excited to bring international cricket back to this part of the country.”
Pakistan is currently participating in a tri-series tournament with Afghanistan and hosts the United Arab Emirates (UAE), where they reached the finals by defeating the hosts by 31 runs.
The tournament precedes the Asia Cup 2025 — also held in the UAE from September 9 to 28 — where the Green Shirts are expected to clash with arch-rivals India.