On Saturday, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced that Pakistan will begin its ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 campaign on 12 October by hosting South Africa, the current Test champions.
Pakistan to Host South Africa from 12 October for Test Championship
Notably, the series will start with two Test matches. The first Test will be played at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium from 12–16 October, which will also be the first five-day match there since the stadium’s recent renovation for the upcoming ICC Champions Trophy 2025.
The second Test will be held at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from 20–24 October. This marks South Africa’s first Test tour of Pakistan since 2021, when they lost 2-0.
After the Tests, the teams will play three T20 matches between 28 October and 1 November. The first T20 will be in Rawalpindi, while the other two will be in Lahore.
The tour will end with a three-match ODI series from 4–8 November in Faisalabad’s Iqbal Stadium. This is historic because it will be the first ODI in Faisalabad in 17 years, the last one was in April 2008 when Pakistan defeated Bangladesh.
In the press release, the PCB Chief Operating Officer Sumair Ahmed Syed, said:
“We are looking forward to welcome South Africa for the opening series of our ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 campaign. Starting the new cycle against the current 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. 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.”
Notably, South Africa last visited Pakistan earlier this year for an ODI tri-series before the ICC Champions Trophy.
![South Africa tour to Pakistan [Source: AFP]](https://onecricketnews.akamaized.net/parth-editor/oc-dashboard/news-images-prod/1757153460340_South_Africa_vs_Pakistan (1).jpg)
South Africa tour to Pakistan [Source: AFP]
