Pakistan’s Test captain Shan Masood and South Africa’s skipper Aiden Markram officially unveiled the series trophy in a ceremony on Saturday. The event also featured a tour of the National Cricket Academy (NCA) museum, which Captain Masood personally guided, offering Markram insights into the historical significance of the various displayed trophies.
Both leaders expressed their anticipation for the forthcoming contest, with the trophy reveal serving as a key ceremonial prelude to the highly awaited series.
The two-Test series will commence on Sunday, 12 October, at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium. The second Test is scheduled to be held from 20 to 24 October at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium.
These matches form a crucial part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27 and will be followed by a limited-overs leg comprising three T20Is and three ODIs, to be contested from 28 October to 8 November.
This series inaugurates a new ICC World Test Championship cycle for the Pakistan Men’s team, who will face the defending champions of the 2023-25 edition, South Africa. Historically, this is the first time since the Championship’s inception in 2019 that Pakistan will begin a cycle on home soil. Their previous opening series were all away tours: to Australia (2019-21), the West Indies (2021-23), and Sri Lanka (2023-25).
In the overall head-to-head record spanning 30 Tests, Pakistan have secured six victories to South Africa’s 17, with seven matches drawn. Within Pakistan and the UAE, the hosts hold a slight edge, winning four of the 13 Tests compared to South Africa’s three, with six ending in draws. In their four World Test Championship meetings, the record is evenly balanced with two wins apiece. South Africa’s last tour to Pakistan in 2021 resulted in a 2-0 victory for the home side.
Key Pakistani performers from past WTC encounters against South Africa include Babar Azam, who has accumulated 315 runs with four half-centuries, and Mohammad Rizwan, who has scored 283 runs, including a century. With the ball, Hasan Ali has taken 12 wickets in just two WTC matches against the Proteas. All three players are included in the 16-member squad for the upcoming series.
Speaking to PCB Digital, Pakistan Captain Shan Masood outlined his team’s ambitions: “The main goal for any team is always to win the championship, but I think for us it’s about starting off well, and we have got the perfect opposition, the team that won the last Test Championship. To play against them in our home conditions is a great opportunity for us.” He emphasized the importance of a strong start, noting that past champions have excelled in their home matches.
South Africa Captain Aiden Markram shared his enthusiasm, stating, “It’s an exciting start to the new cycle. It’s great to be in Pakistan and I am really looking forward to it.” He acknowledged the challenge of adapting to local conditions, adding, “You win Test matches and Test series by being good in all facets of the game, so it’s going to be a unique challenge for us… a challenge our players are looking forward to.”
Pakistan 16-member squad:
Shan Masood (captain), Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Asif Afridi, Babar Azam, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Noman Ali, Rohail Nazir (wicket-keeper), Sajid Khan, Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel and Shaheen Shah Afridi.
