SA to open WTC 2025-27 campaign against Pakistan at Gadaffi Stadium in October

The Gaddafi Stadium is set to host its first Test match in over three years - and the first since it was rebuilt ahead of the Champions Trophy earlier this year. It will be the venue for the first of two Test matches when South Africa visit Pakistan for an all-format series next month.

That game, starting on October 12, will kick off the series, South Africa's first in a World Test Championship campaign since they became champions in June this year. It will be the first series of the next two-year Test cycle for both teams. The second game will take place at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, which also underwent some renovation work over the past year.

The series will also mark the first time Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad hosts international cricket in 17 years, with all three ODIs between the sides set to take place there. Faisalabad was initially a venue for two T20Is against Bangladesh in May, but amid a reschedule due to an India-Pakistan border tension, the games in Faisalabad were scrapped.

The series also features three T20Is which precede the ODIs, with the first in Rawalpindi and the next two in Lahore.

Lahore's return as a Test venue is notable, with this being just the second Test at the Gaddafi since Test cricket returned to Pakistan in 2019. In the years since, Pindi, Karachi and latterly Multan became favoured venues for red-ball games, primarily because smog in the winter months affects Lahore more than the other cities, and restricted the window for Test cricket in the city. The one game it hosted was in March 2022 against Australia at the back end of the cricket season in the country.

It will also be the first red-ball series against South Africa with full crowd involvement since the return of international cricket to Pakistan. The sides played a two-match series in 2021 behind closed doors due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

"We are looking forward to welcome South Africa for the opening series of our ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 campaign," PCB COO Sumair Ahmed said. "Starting the new cycle against the current Test champions will provide quality cricket for our players and fans."

The ODIs begin on 28 October, with the final T20I on 8 November in Faisalabad.

October 12-16 - First Test, Lahore
October 20-24 - Second Test, Rawalpindi
October 28 - First T20I, Rawalpindi
October 31 - Second T20I, Lahore
November 1 -Third T20I, Lahore
November 4 - First ODI, Faisalabad
November 6 - Second ODI, Faisalabad
November 8 - Third ODI, Faisalabad