Pakistan hosts England and Sri Lanka for a 7-match ODI tri-series — the second tri-series on home soil in two years, and a crucial audition ahead of next year's World Cup.
Full schedule
| # | Date | Match | Venue | Time (PKT) | Time (IST) | Time (BST) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sun, Oct 18 | Pakistan vs Sri Lanka | Rawalpindi | 9:30 AM | 10:00 AM | 5:30 AM |
| 2 | Tue, Oct 20 | Pakistan vs England | Rawalpindi | 9:30 AM | 10:00 AM | 5:30 AM |
| 3 | Thu, Oct 22 | England vs Sri Lanka | Rawalpindi | 9:30 AM | 10:00 AM | 5:30 AM |
| 4 | Sun, Oct 25 | Pakistan vs England | Lahore | 9:30 AM | 10:00 AM | 5:30 AM |
| 5 | Tue, Oct 27 | Pakistan vs Sri Lanka | Lahore | 9:30 AM | 10:00 AM | 5:30 AM |
| 6 | Thu, Oct 29 | England vs Sri Lanka | Lahore | 9:30 AM | 10:00 AM | 5:30 AM |
| 7 | Sat, Oct 31 | Final (1st vs 2nd) | Lahore | 9:30 AM | 10:00 AM | 5:30 AM |
Timings: PKT is UTC+5, IST is UTC+5:30, BST is UTC+1. Day matches — unusual for Pakistan, so set your alarms.
Squads
England (announced)
Harry Brook (captain), Gus Atkinson, Sonny Baker, Tom Banton, James Coles, Jordan Cox, Mason Crane, Henry Crocombe, Sam Curran, Liam Dawson, Ben Duckett, Will Jacks, Jamie Overton, Adil Rashid, Joe Root, Josh Tongue.
Pakistan & Sri Lanka
Squads to be confirmed — this page updates the moment PCB announces. Personally, I'd blood one young quick alongside Shaheen rather than picking three veterans — Rawalpindi in October rewards pace, and you learn nothing new about a 34-year-old you don't already know.
Format
Round-robin: each team plays the others twice. Top two on the points table meet in the final on October 31. Net run rate decides ties — here's how NRR works if you need a refresher.
Why this series matters
- World Cup 2027 prep: all three are former world champions, and the ICC has framed this as the road to CWC27.
- England's new era: Harry Brook captaining a young ODI squad on a tough away tour.
- Home advantage: Pakistan were runners-up in the last home tri-series (Feb 2025, vs New Zealand and South Africa) — they'll want to go one better.
How to watch
Broadcast details vary by country — check our watch guide for legal TV and streaming options in Pakistan, the UK, India and the USA. We never list unofficial streams.
Venue guide
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium (Matches 1–3)
Rawalpindi traditionally offers the new ball something early — seam movement in the first ten overs — before flattening into a true batting surface. Day games (9:30 AM starts) mean no dew, so the toss is less decisive than in night matches; first-innings totals around 280–300 are par. The ground has seen big ODI days: Pakistan's 337/3 against New Zealand here in 2023, Gary Kirsten's 188* in the 1996 World Cup, and Saqlain Mushtaq's 5/20 against England in 2000. Babar Azam averages beautifully here — 569 ODI runs at the venue. Full records: Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium records.
Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore (Matches 4–7, including the final)
Freshly renovated with a listed capacity of 34,000, Gaddafi is Pakistan's grandest ODI stage — and the final on October 31 will fill it. Lahore pitches are generally batting-friendly with something for the spinners as the game wears on. The crowd here is famously loud and partisan; England's youngsters will hear noise they've never experienced. More: Gaddafi Stadium Lahore — capacity and guide.
I watched a day game in Rawalpindi once where the first hour belonged entirely to the bowlers and the last thirty overs belonged entirely to the batters — two different matches in one day. October mornings there do strange things to a white ball.
Match-by-match: what's at stake
Match 1 (Oct 18) — Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Rawalpindi. Tournament openers set the weather for everything after. Pakistan will want a fast start in front of home fans; Sri Lanka, coming off the T20I series, will already be match-hardened.
Match 2 (Oct 20) — Pakistan vs England, Rawalpindi. The marquee group game. England's young squad gets its first real examination against Pakistan's new-ball attack, and the result shapes the points table early — with only four group games each, nobody can afford to start 0–2. Our full 2nd ODI preview covers pitch, XIs and key battles.
Match 3 (Oct 22) — England vs Sri Lanka, Rawalpindi. England's first look at Sri Lanka's spinners in these conditions, and Sri Lanka's chance to bloody a favourite's nose. Upsets in tri-series usually start here, in the game nobody's talking about.
Matches 4–6 (Oct 25–29) — the Lahore leg. The tournament moves to Gaddafi for the return fixtures. By now the table has a shape: someone's desperate, someone's cruising, and net run rate starts getting mentioned in every press conference. The NRR explainer will come in handy.
Final (Oct 31) — Lahore. First vs second, one game, a trophy. Pakistan were runners-up in the last home tri-series (February 2025, against New Zealand and South Africa) — the home crowd will expect one better this time.
Following the series
- Points table: updated within an hour of every result — tri-series points table
- Watch: TV and legal streaming by country — how to watch. We never list unofficial streams.
- Context: ODI tri-series format explained · NRR explained
Historical context
This is Pakistan's second home ODI tri-series in two years — the February 2025 edition (vs New Zealand and South Africa) ended with Pakistan as runners-up. Before that, home tri-series were rare in the 2010s as Pakistan played most of their cricket in the UAE. A full house in Lahore for an October final, against England, would be the latest sign of how far home cricket has come.
