Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) released the future tour program (FTP) for Pakistan’s men’s cricket team for the season 2023-2025 on its social media handles. Pakistan is currently playing Sri Lanka away in a two-match test series that’s part of the World Test Championship (WTC) 2023-25. Pakistan’s FTP 2023-25 has 38 T20Is scheduled in it.
Asia Cup & World Cup Year
Pakistan has two major tournaments lined up this year with ACC Asia Cup 2023 scheduled to take place in both Pakistan & Sri Lanka in a hybrid model & then the ICC World Cup 2023 is scheduled in India. Although Pakistan were the official host to stage this year’s Asia Cup but BCCI’s reluctance to send their team to Pakistan meant that the event followed a hybrid model.
It’s yet to be seen if the Government of Pakistan decides whether to send the men’s cricket team to India or not for the World Cup. A committee has been made to make the decision. ICC released the fixtures of the World Cup recently with Pakistan stipulated to kick off their campaign against Netherlands in Hyderabad on 6th October & the high-octane clash against the hosts India in Ahmedabad on 15th October.
After the World Cup in India, Pakistan will be travelling to Australia for a highly anticipated three-match Test series beginning in December. All the onus will be on Naseem & Shaheen to perform in the Aussies’ conditions.
PCB added an additional 10 T20Is against New Zealand as a strategic buildup plan for ICC T20 World Cup 2024 to give the best possible preparation to the players.
Following three ICC World Test Championship matches in Australia from 14 December to 7 January, Pakistan will travel to New Zealand for five T20Is, which will kick-start their T20 World Cup preparations. These matches will be held from 12-21 January. The schedule is:
- 12 Jan – 1st T20I, Auckland
- 14 Jan – 2nd T20I, Hamilton
- 17 Jan – 3rd T20I, Dunedin
- 19 Jan – 4th T20I, Christchurch
- 21 Jan – 5th T20I, Christchurch
In turn, New Zealand will make a return visit to Pakistan in April 2024 for five T20Is to fill the vacant window. To schedule the additional T20Is, the PCB, in consultation with Cricket West Indies and New Zealand Cricket, has made slight changes to its Future Tours Programme 2023-2025.
The two ICC World Test Championship fixtures against the West Indies, originally planned in Pakistan in February 2024, will now be held in January 2025. Likewise, Pakistan’s tour to New Zealand for three ODIs and five T20Is, originally scheduled in January 2025, will now take place in April 2025.
Also read: Asia Cup 2023 Schedule Announced
No ODI for Almost a Year
Pakistan’s FTP 2023-25 raised a lot of concern among several prominent journalists who asked the PCB for the lack of ODI’s in the schedule. Pakistan team will not be playing any bilateral ODI cricket from the series against Afghanistan from August 2023 (subject to confirmation) to November 2024. That’s more than 12 months & is un-just for players in their prime like Imam ul Haq, Fakhar Zaman & Babar Azam.
I still don’t understand the logic behind playing 38 T20Is in the course of two years. Understandably, you want to prepare for the ICC T20 World Cup 2024 but the next bilateral series is scheduled in November 2024, which completely baffles me. Especially considering you are hosting ICC Champions Trophy 2025 in Feb-March 2025.
ODI’s Scheduled before ICC Champions Trophy 2025 = 09 + Tri-Series with NZ/SA
T20I’s Scheduled before ICC T20 World Cup 2024 = 19
Breakdown of matches in Pakistan’s FTP 2023-25
The following format matches will be played by the Pakistani men’s cricket team in their FTP 2023-25:
| Tests | ODI’s | T20I’s |
| 14 (Except WTC Final) | 18 (Except Asia Cup & World Cup) | 38 (Except T20 WC 2024) |
Pakistan men’s revised Future Tours Programme 2023-2025 (Tests are part of ICC WTC 2023-2025)
2023-24
- July – Pakistan to Sri Lanka (two Tests) (ongoing)
- August – Pakistan to Afghanistan (three ODIs)
- September – ACC 50-over Asia Cup in Pakistan and Sri Lanka
- October/November – ICC Men’s Cricket World Cup India 2023
- December/January – Pakistan to Australia (three Tests)
- January – Pakistan to New Zealand (5T20Is)
- April – New Zealand to Pakistan (5 T20Is)
- May – Pakistan to the Netherlands (three T20Is), Ireland (two T20Is), and England (four T20Is)
- June – ICC Men’s T20 World Cup USA/West Indies 2024
2024-25
- August – Bangladesh in Pakistan (two Tests)
- October – England in Pakistan (three Tests)
- November – Pakistan to Australia (three ODIs and three T20Is)
- November/December – Pakistan to Zimbabwe (three ODIs and three T20Is)
- December/January – Pakistan to South Africa (two Tests, three ODIs, three T20Is)
- January – West Indies in Pakistan (two Tests)
- February – New Zealand and South Africa in Pakistan (ODI tri-series)
- February/March – ICC Champions Trophy Pakistan 2025
- April – Pakistan to New Zealand (three ODIs and five T20Is)
- May – Bangladesh in Pakistan (three ODIs and three T20Is)
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