SA and NZ re-confirm tri-nation ODI series

ISLAMABAD: South Africa and New Zealand cricket boards have confirmed again playing ODI Tri-nation series ahead of the February 2025 Champions Trophy to be hosted by Pakistan.

Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) Chairman Mohsin Naqvi met with the heads of SA and NZ cricket boards on the sidelines of the ICC’s Board meeting in Dubai, where both cricketing boards confirmed their teams’ participation in the ODI Tri-nation series to be held in early February 2025.

‘The News’ has also learnt that the double-headers would be followed by the final. The main objective of the Tri-series will be to prepare the team for the 2025 Champions Trophy also to be hosted by Pakistan.

“I am thankful to the NZ and SA cricket board chairmen for the confirmation of the series. The series will help all the three nations to prepare a competitive outfit,” Naqvi said.

The Champions Trophy has been made part of the ICC mega events list for the next year’s calendar. Both NZ and SA cricketing boards had earlier accepted Pakistan’s invitation to play tri-series in August 2023.

The series was part of the PCB’s schedule of around 238 days of international cricket during the four years comprising 27 ICC World Test Championship fixtures (13 home and 14 away), 47 One-Day Internationals (26 home and 21 home) and 56 Twenty20 Internationals (27 home and 29 away).

The number of matches may increase depending on where Pakistan finishes in the ICC and ACC events between 2023 and 2027, as well as in the 2025 and 2026 three-nation ODI series. In the ICC World Test Championship 2023-2025, Pakistan renaming fixtures include series against Bangladesh (home), England (home), South Africa (away), Sri Lanka (away) and West Indies (home), while their matches in the 2025-2027 championship are against Bangladesh (away), England (away), New Zealand (home), South Africa (home), Sri Lanka (home) and West Indies (away).

The three-nation ODI series has returned to Pakistan’s calendar for the first time since 2004-05. New Zealand and South Africa will join Pakistan in the tri-series in 2025, which will take place in the build-up to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, while England and Sri Lanka will participate in the series in October/November 2026.

The PCB has scheduled white-ball matches with one eye on the ICC global events. While Pakistan will host a triangular series in February 2025 in the lead up to the ICC Champions Trophy 2025, it will play T20Is against New Zealand, Ireland and England in the build up to the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2024, which will be jointly hosted by the United States and the West Indies.

Likewise, ahead of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2026, which will be co-hosted by India and Sri Lanka, Pakistan will play Australia in three home T20Is. Apart from Australia, three other sides -- Bangladesh, Ireland, and Zimbabwe -- will also play white-ball matches in Pakistan between 2023 and 2027.

Pakistan’s FTP 2023-2027 reflects that it will play host to 10 out of 12 ICC Full Member nations for the first time in more than two decades.