Pakistan will face South Africa in the first of the two-Test match series on Sunday, October 12, at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium.
Both teams will play the second Test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from October 20 to October 24. Teams will play three T20Is and three ODIs from October 28 to November 8.
The Test series marks the start of a new cycle for the Pakistan Men’s team in the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27. South Africa, the champions of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25, will pose as Pakistan’s first challenger.
Pakistan is playing their opening series of a WTC cycle at home. It has happened first time since the inception of the ICC World Test Championship in 2019.
In the 2019-21 WTC, they began the cycle with an away tour to Australia. While in 2021-23, they began the Championship with a tour of the West Indies. In the previous 2023-25 cycle, Pakistan started their campaign with a tour of Sri Lanka.
Pakistan vs South Africa Test Series:
In head-to-head encounters, Pakistan have played 30 Test matches against South Africa, winning six. South Africa stood victorious on 17 occasions and seven matches have ended in a draw. In 13 Test matches (nine in Pakistan and four in the UAE) between the two teams, Pakistan have won four, South Africa three, while six Tests have ended in draws.
In World Test Championship matches, both sides have played four Tests, winning two each. South Africa last toured Pakistan for two Tests in January–February 2021, which the hosts won 2-0. For Pakistan in the WTC against South Africa, Babar Azam has scored 315 runs in four Tests, including four half-centuries, while Mohammad Rizwan has scored 283 runs in four Tests, including a century.
In the bowling department, Hasan Ali has taken 12 wickets in two ICC World Test Championship matches against South Africa. All three players are part of the 16-member squad for the forthcoming Test series.
Series schedule:
12-16 October – First Test at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
20-24 October – Second Test at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
28 October – First T20I at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi
31 October – Second T20I at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
1 November – Third T20I at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore
4 November – First ODI at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
6 November – Second ODI at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
8 November – Third ODI at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad
