South Africa cricket team arrives in Pakistan for two-match Test series

Dubai: South Africa’s Test squad landed in Lahore on Wednesday ahead of their two-match Test series against Pakistan, set to begin on October 12.

The team will spend the coming days training and acclimatising to the conditions as they prepare for the red-ball series, which marks the start of both nations’ campaigns in the 2025-27 ICC World Test Championship.

The first Test will take place from October 12 to 16 at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, followed by the second Test at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from October 20 to 24.

This tour includes fixtures across all three formats. After the Tests, the two sides will face off in three T20 Internationals and three One-Day Internationals, scheduled between October 28 and November 8. The squads for the limited-overs matches will be announced at a later date.

Pakistan will be looking to bounce back after finishing at the bottom of the table in the previous World Test Championship cycle, where they suffered nine defeats in 14 matches. Meanwhile, South Africa will be aiming to launch a strong title defence with a confident start on foreign soil.

Test schedule: First Test at Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore from October 12 to 16.

Second Test at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from October 20 to 24.

Pakistan squad: Shan Masood (C), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Asif Afridi, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Rizwan (WK), Noman Ali, Rohail Nazir (WK), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi.

South Africa squad: Aiden Markram (c), David Bedingham, Corbin Bosch, Dewald Brevis, Tony de Zorzi, Zubayr Hamza, Simon Harmer, Marco Jansen, Keshav Maharaj (second Test only), Wiaan Mulder, Senuran Muthusamy, Kagiso Rabada, Ryan Rickelton, Tristan Stubbs, Prenelan Subrayen and Kyle Verreynne.