Preview: Pakistan host England and Sri Lanka in ODI tri-series from 18 October

Pakistan's home season moves into 50-over cricket on 18 October 2026, when Shaheen Shah Afridi's side open a seven-match ODI tri-series against Sri Lanka in Rawalpindi. England complete the field, and the tournament concludes with a final at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore on 31 October.

For all three teams the series is an important stepping stone towards the 2027 ICC Cricket World Cup, which will be staged in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.

Format and fixtures

Each side plays the other two twice, making six league matches, and the top two teams meet in the final. The first three games are in Rawalpindi before the tournament moves to Lahore:

• 18 October: Pakistan v Sri Lanka, Rawalpindi
• 20 October: Pakistan v England, Rawalpindi
• 22 October: Sri Lanka v England, Rawalpindi
• 25 October: Pakistan v England, Lahore
• 27 October: Pakistan v Sri Lanka, Lahore
• 29 October: Sri Lanka v England, Lahore
• 31 October: Final, Lahore

Pakistan's squad

Shaheen continues as ODI captain at the head of a 16-player squad: Shaheen Shah Afridi (captain), Abrar Ahmed, Salman Ali Agha, Arafat Minhas, Babar Azam, Faheem Ashraf, Fakhar Zaman, Haris Rauf, Hasan Nawaz, Naseem Shah, Razaullah, Saim Ayub, Shadab Khan, Sufiyan Muqeem, and wicketkeepers Muhammad Ghazi Ghori and Saad Baig.

The group blends experience and new faces. Babar Azam and Haris Rauf, who were not part of the T20I squad against Sri Lanka, return for the 50-over format, and Salman Ali Agha keeps his ODI place despite losing the T20I captaincy. Razaullah, picked after his batting in the third Test against England, and wicketkeeper Saad Baig add fresh options.

The opposition

England arrive with a 16-player squad captained by Harry Brook that includes Joe Root, Ben Duckett, Gus Atkinson and Adil Rashid. They come into the series in good form, having won their two previous ODI series of the English summer, both by a 2-1 margin.

Sri Lanka will have spent a fortnight in Pakistan by the time the tri-series starts, having played the three-match T20I series in Rawalpindi from 9 to 13 October. Familiarity with local conditions could help them, but they will need a lift after losing the first two of those T20Is.

What to watch

Pakistan's selectors will be keen to see how the batting order settles around Babar, Fakhar and Saim Ayub, and whether a pace attack led by Shaheen, Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf can control games in home conditions. With a final on the line in Lahore, the series offers rare tournament-style pressure in a bilateral-heavy calendar, the kind of test the team management will value with a World Cup a year away.