The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) has announced an 18-member squad for the upcoming two-Test series against South Africa, set to begin on October 12. The series is part of the ICC World Test Championship 2025–27. Shan Masood will continue as captain, with three uncapped players — Asif Afridi, Faisal Akram, and Rohail Nazir — included in the squad.
The series will begin at the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore from October 12 to 16, while the second Test will be played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from October 20 to 24. South Africa, the reigning Test champions, are expected to bring a strong side. The Test squad will be trimmed before the first match.
Read more: PCB suspends player NOCs for foreign t20 leagues
The PCB confirmed that red-ball head coach Azhar Mahmood will lead the pre-series training camp with support from National Cricket Academy (NCA) staff. Training begins today and continues until October 8. Players from the recent Asia Cup 2025 will join the camp on October 4.
The selected squad includes: Shan Masood (captain), Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, Asif Afridi, Babar Azam, Faisal Akram, 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.
After the Test series, Pakistan will host South Africa for three T20 Internationals and three ODIs between October 28 and November 8. The squads for those matches will be announced later. This home series comes at a critical time as Pakistan looks to bounce back from their Asia Cup final loss to India and regain momentum in international cricket.