Pakistan’s women know where they’ll be for almost every month between now and the next two global tournaments. First, three one-dayers against South Africa at Lahore’s Gaddafi Stadium from 16-22 September will serve as the last home tune-up before the 2025 ODI World Cup. From there the squad fly straight to Sri Lanka, where all of their group fixtures – and any knock-out matches should they qualify – will be staged.
The only other outing pencilled in for the remainder of 2025 is a short T20I visit to Dublin, 6-10 August, where Ireland provide three matches and familiar early-autumn weather.
2026 looks far fuller. A six-match tour of South Africa in February-March – three ODIs, three T20Is – opens the year, followed in late April by a return series against Zimbabwe in Pakistan. The original Future Tours Programme listed five T20Is for that leg; the board has quietly trimmed it to three.
May-June brings a triangular T20I series in Ireland, West Indies completing the line-up, just before the squad crosses the Irish Sea for the T20 World Cup in England (12 June-5 July).
Domestic and pathway plans
While the internationals dominate headlines, the Pakistan Cricket Board is trying to deepen the talent pool at home. Karachi hosts the National One-Day Tournament from 6-24 November, a double-league event across 15 matches. The National T20 Tournament follows, 24 March-17 April next year.
PCB head of women’s cricket Rafia Haider says the board is “actively engaging in discussions with various departments to introduce a departmental tournament for women’s cricket” because, in her words, “this initiative will provide additional playing opportunities for our women cricketers”. A decision is expected before the end of the year.
University sides also get a look-in: an inter-varsity event is pencilled in for October 2025, dates and venues to be confirmed.
On the pathway front, the Under-19 national T20 runs in Karachi from 15 September-6 October 2025, followed by a three-week skills camp for standout performers. Those players will form the bulk of the squad touring Bangladesh in December for five youth T20s.
Assessment
Pakistan’s calendar is busy without being frantic. The ODI programme is light once the World Cup finishes, yet the T20 build-up feels sensible: varied opposition, a mix of home and away conditions, and tri-series cricket that can mimic the pressure of tournament play. The truncated Zimbabwe T20 leg is an opportunity lost, though, given how few high-level matches the side plays each year.
Squad depth remains the long-term question. Domestic competitions, even expanded, offer limited match-days. If the proposed departmental tournament gets off the ground, it could plug the gap, but Pakistan will still rely heavily on extended camps and overseas series to harden players for England 2026.
For now, at least, the roadmap is clear: a focused 50-over push towards India and Sri Lanka this autumn, then an extended sprint towards the T20 World Cup on English soil.
