Pakistan to host tri-nation series with New Zealand, South Africa ahead of Champions Trophy 2025

New Delhi : PCB chairman Mohsin Naqvi has said that Pakistan will host a tri-series in which New Zealand and South Africa will participate in February just before the Champions Trophy next year.

The PCB chairman has given an invitation to Roger Twose (Chairman of New Zealand Cricket) and Lawson Naidoo (Chairman of Cricket South Africa) to visit Pakistan for the triangular ODI series.

Naqvi asserted the upcoming tri-series will be an exciting one as the Men in Green are hosting a tri-series after a long time. He thanked New Zealand Cricket and South Africa Cricket for agreeing to participate in the Tri-series.

"The tri-series between Pakistan, South Africa and New Zealand will be an exciting event and it is after a long time that Pakistan will host such a tournament. I would like to thank the heads of NZC and CSA for agreeing to participate in the Tri-series. The PCB is also looking forward to hosting the ICC Champions Trophy 2025 which will be a great pleasure for Pakistan to host the top eight ODI teams on its soil," the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman said, according to a statement.

Ahead of the T20 World Cup, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Wednesday announced that New Zealand will travel to the country for a five-match 20-over series.

The series will take place between April 18 to 27, with the Kiwis arriving in Pakistan on April 14 for sufficient training and practice sessions ahead of the T20 World Cup which will start in June.

In the last 17 months, this will be the Black Caps' third visit to Pakistan, the first was held in December 2022 till January 2023, when the Kiwis played two Tests and three ODIs against the Men in Green.

The 2022-23 Test series finished as a 0-0 draw, while New Zealand won the ODI series by 2-1.

Earlier this year, Pakistan visited New Zealand and faced a 4-1 defeat in T20Is.The first three T20I matches of the current series will take place in Rawalpindi. Following that the visitors will travel to Lahore for the remaining two games.

Full schedule:

1st T20I in Rawalpindi: April 8.

2nd T20I in Rawalpindi: April 20.

3rd T20I in Rawalpindi: April 21.

4th T20I in Lahore: April 25.

5th T20I in Lahore: April 27.