Tomorrow morning, Test cricket comes home. Pakistan host Sri Lanka in a two-match Test series that starts on Monday, November 9 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium — Sri Lanka's first Test tour of Pakistan since 2019, and the start of what the PCB is quietly calling a rebuild. Babar Azam captains a squad that has been reshaped twice in three weeks, Kusal Mendis leads Sri Lanka in a new era of his own, and both teams sit in the bottom half of the World Test Championship table, which makes every session of these two Tests matter more than a November series usually does.
I have covered enough Pakistan home series to know the script by now: big promises, a new plan, a fresh opening pair. What makes this one different is how much has actually changed. Shan Masood, the captain of the last cycle, is out. Mohammad Rizwan, despite a Quaid-e-Azam Trophy double century, is still out. Six players across the two squad announcements are uncapped. This is not a tweak — it is a new team wearing an old shirt, and Rawalpindi is where we find out whether the shirt fits.
Babar Azam faces Asitha Fernando in Colombo in 2023 — the duel that will headline this series again (file photo).
Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Test Series Schedule
1st Test: Monday November 9 to Friday November 13, Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi. Play starts 9:30 AM PKT.
2nd Test: Tuesday November 17 to Saturday November 21, Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. Play starts 9:30 AM PKT.
Both matches count towards the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27. The series trophy was unveiled in Islamabad on Sunday, and the PCB has priced tickets from Rs 200 — the board clearly wants full stands for Babar's first home series as Test captain.
The series at a glance: two Tests, two cities, and a head-to-head record Pakistan lead 23-17.
Why This Series Matters: Two Teams at the Bottom of the WTC Table
Let me be honest about where these teams stand. Pakistan are bottom of the World Test Championship 2025-27 table: two wins and seven defeats from nine matches. Sri Lanka are only slightly better off — one win, two defeats and three draws from six. Neither side is playing for a place in the final; both are playing for credibility, and for the younger players in these squads, for their careers.
There is also history in the fixture itself. This is Sri Lanka's first Test tour of Pakistan since December 2019, when they returned for a full series after a decade away and lost 1-0 — the Rawalpindi Test drawn in the rain, Karachi won by Pakistan by 263 runs. Pakistan's planned Test revival, built on fast tracks and new openers, starts here, against the one team that knows subcontinental conditions as well as they do.
Head-to-Head: Pakistan Lead, but Sri Lanka Know How to Win Here
Pakistan and Sri Lanka have played 59 Tests against each other. Pakistan have won 23, Sri Lanka 17, and 19 have been drawn. The most recent series, in Sri Lanka in July 2023, was a rout: Pakistan won by four wickets in Galle and by an innings and 222 runs at the SSC — one of their most complete away performances of the modern era, built on Saud Shakeel's double century and a relentless pace attack.
But Sri Lanka have hurt Pakistan in "home" conditions before: their 2-0 win in the UAE in 2017 remains the result every Pakistan fan of a certain age remembers with a wince. And one number should worry the hosts this week: at Rawalpindi since 2021, Pakistan have won just one of six Tests, losing four. The Pindi pitch has been a graveyard for home plans recently — which is exactly why the reported decision to prepare fast, bouncy tracks this time is the biggest tactical story of the series.
Pakistan's Squad: Babar's New-Look Side
The final 16, confirmed by the PCB this week with Aamer Jamal and three uncapped players added at the last minute: Babar Azam (captain), Tayyab Arif, Aamer Jamal, Ali Shabbir, Arafat Minhas, Azan Awais, Mohammad Abbas, Mohammad Ghazi Ghori (wk), Mohammad Suleman, Mohammad Taha, Razaullah, Saad Baig (wk), Salman Ali Agha, Sameer Minhas, Saud Shakeel, Saqib Khan.
Three things stand out to me. First, the wicketkeeping: with Rizwan left out, the gloves go to a debutant — Saad Baig or Ghazi Ghori — which is a brave call in a home series. Second, Mohammad Abbas is back, and on a lively Rawalpindi track his relentlessness is worth more than raw pace. Third, the batting still leans heavily on three men — Babar, Saud Shakeel and Salman Ali Agha — because the new openers, whoever partners up front from Azan Awais, Mohammad Taha and Sameer Minhas, will be learning Test cricket against a moving new ball. Tayyab Arif's numbers forced his selection (727 runs at 66 in first-class cricket), and Saqib Khan's 47 wickets made him impossible to ignore, but first-class form and Test cricket are different sports on day one.
Sri Lanka's Squad: Mendis' Young Lions
Sri Lanka's 15: Kusal Mendis (captain), Pathum Nissanka, Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Sonal Dinusha, Dhananjaya de Silva, Anjala Bandara, Keshara Nuwantha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Milan Rathnayaka, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka, Eshan Malinga.
Kusal Mendis, recently appointed captain, is expected to play as a specialist batter, with young Anjala Bandara likely to debut behind the stumps. Pathum Nissanka is fit again and back at the top of the order — a real boost, because his duel with Abbas and Jamal on a fresh Rawalpindi pitch could set the tone for the whole series. The experience sits in the middle: Chandimal, Dhananjaya and Kamindu Mendis, who has scored heavily in Test cricket since his breakthrough and makes runs in a way that breaks bowling plans.
Prabath Jayasuriya took 17 wickets in two Tests against Pakistan in 2022 and was Player of the Series — he remains Sri Lanka's biggest weapon (file photo).
Key Battles That Will Decide the Series
Babar Azam vs Prabath Jayasuriya. Jayasuriya took 17 wickets in two Tests against Pakistan in 2022 on his way to Player of the Series, and Babar is the wicket Sri Lanka will plan for. If Babar survives the left-arm spinner's long spells, Pakistan's middle order breathes; if Jayasuriya gets him early twice, the rebuild talk gets loud very quickly.
Pakistan's pace vs Sri Lanka's top order. The whole fast-track plan only works if Abbas, Jamal and the new-ball pair actually take wickets with it. Nissanka and Sooriyabandara are Sri Lanka's future; this is their examination on genuinely quick pitches, possibly for the first time in their careers.
Kamindu Mendis vs Pakistan's spinners. Pakistan dropped both Noman Ali and Sajid Khan, their two senior spinners, which means Razaullah and the part-timers carry the spin load. Against the most in-form middle-order batter in Asia, that is a gamble.
Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium hosts the series opener — Pakistan have won only one of their last six Tests here.
My Prediction: Pakistan 1-0, but Nothing Will Come Easy
Pakistan should win this series — they are at home, their pace attack suits the surfaces they have ordered, and Sri Lanka's batting, Nissanka and Kamindu apart, is as unproven as Pakistan's own. But "should" has been doing a lot of heavy lifting in Pakistan Test cricket for two years. My call: a hard-fought draw or a narrow result in Rawalpindi, where Jayasuriya keeps Sri Lanka in the game, and Pakistan to win in Lahore, where their batting depth tells. Series score: Pakistan 1-0. The player I expect to define it: Saud Shakeel, whose game is built for exactly these long, attritional home Tests.
What I am watching most closely is not the result but the intent. If the fast tracks appear and the new openers are backed even after a low score, this rebuild is real. If Rawalpindi serves up another flat road and a defensive XI, we will know it was another press release.
Frequently Asked Questions
When does the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Test series start?
The first Test starts on Monday, November 9, 2026 at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, with play from 9:30 AM PKT. The second Test is in Lahore from November 17 to 21.
Who captains Pakistan and Sri Lanka in this series?
Babar Azam captains Pakistan in his first home series as Test captain; Kusal Mendis, Sri Lanka's recently appointed captain, leads the visitors and is expected to play as a specialist batter.
What is the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka head-to-head record in Tests?
The teams have met 59 times: Pakistan have won 23 Tests, Sri Lanka 17, and 19 were drawn. Pakistan won the most recent series 2-0 in Sri Lanka in July 2023.
Is this series part of the World Test Championship?
Yes — both Tests count towards the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27. Pakistan are currently bottom of the table (2 wins, 7 defeats); Sri Lanka have 1 win, 2 defeats and 3 draws.
When did Sri Lanka last tour Pakistan for Tests?
In December 2019, when Pakistan won the two-match series 1-0 — a rain-hit draw in Rawalpindi followed by a 263-run win in Karachi.
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Sources
- ICC — Pakistan update WTC27 series squad against Sri Lanka (series schedule: 1st Test Nov 9-13 Rawalpindi, 2nd Test Nov 17-21 Lahore)
- Wisden — PAK vs SL Tests 2026: full schedule, squads and timings (both squads, WTC records)
- CricTracker / Geo Super — Pakistan vs Sri Lanka Test head-to-head record (59 Tests: Pakistan 23, Sri Lanka 17, drawn 19) and trophy unveiling, Islamabad, November 8, 2026