Gadaffi Stadium at Lahore to kickstart South Africa WTC campaign as Test Cricket returns to Lahore after three years.
South Africa to open WTC 2025-27 campaign against Pakistan at Gadaffi Stadium in October.
It will be the first Test match played at the Gaddafi Stadium since it was renovated in front of the Champions Trophy earlier this year, and the first in more than three years. When South Africa travels to Pakistan for an all-format series next month, it will host the first of two Test matches.
The series, South Africa’s first in a World Test Championship campaign since they were crowned champions in June of this year, will begin with that match on October 12. For both teams, it will be the opening series of the upcoming two-year Test cycle. The Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, which has also undergone considerable renovations in the last year, will host the second game.
Faisalabad to host ODI Cricket
All three of the ODIs between the teams will be played at Iqbal Stadium in Faisalabad, which will host international cricket for the first time in 17 years during the series. Two Twenty20 International matches against Bangladesh were originally scheduled to take place in Faisalabad in May, however they were cancelled due to a rescheduling caused by tensions around the India-Pakistan border.
The series also features three T20Is which precede the ODIs, with the first in Rawalpindi and the next two in Lahore.
Why Lahore return is crucial
This is only the second Test at the Gaddafi since Test cricket returned to Pakistan in 2019, making Lahore a noteworthy Test venue return. Since then, Pindi, Karachi, and more recently, Multan, have emerged as preferred locations for red-ball matches. This is mainly because Lahore experiences more fog during the winter than other towns, which limits the window for Test cricket in the city. The only match it held was against Australia in March 2022, towards the end of Pakistan’s cricket season.
Additionally, since international cricket returned to Pakistan, this will be the first red-ball series versus South Africa with complete fan participation. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the teams played a two-match series behind closed doors in 2021.
“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.”