LAHORE — Pakistan will host Sri Lanka for a three-match T20I series and a two-match World Test Championship contest, with an ODI tri-series involving England sandwiched between the two assignments, the International Cricket Council confirmed as it announced the playing control teams for all 12 matches scheduled from October 9 to November 21.
The announcement covers three distinct series spread across Rawalpindi and Lahore, with a blend of Elite Panel and International Panel officials taking charge of proceedings.
Crowe to Lead ODI Tri-Series
Jeffrey Crowe, a member of the ICC Elite Panel of match referees and a former New Zealand Test cricketer, will head the playing control team for all seven matches of the ODI tri-series, which runs from October 18 to 31 in Rawalpindi and Lahore.
Crowe’s connection to Pakistan-Sri Lanka cricket runs deep — he made his Test debut as a referee in October 2004 during the Faisalabad Test between the two sides. The New Zealander recently completed 350 ODI matches as referee and earlier this month became only the second person to officiate 700 international matches in the role.
Umpiring Panel for the Tri-Series
Pakistan’s Ahsan Raza and Bangladesh’s Sharfuddoula Ibne Shahid, both members of the ICC Elite Panel of Umpires, will be joined by International Panel umpires Wayne Knights of New Zealand, Asif Yaqoob, Nasir Hussain, Rashid Riaz Waqar and Faisal Khan Aafreedi for the tri-series.
- Knights, adding to his tally of 37 ODIs as umpire, will partner with Asif as on-field umpires in the opening match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
- Ahsan will officiate the final two matches as on-field umpire, teaming with Sharfuddoula for the Sri Lanka versus England clash in Lahore before standing alongside Knights in the final.
- Faisal, Rashid and Nasir will each serve as on-field umpires for one match, while Asif will stand in two.
- Sharfuddoula and Knights will alternate as third umpire throughout the series, with Sharfuddoula starting in the opener.
Cosker to Make Test Referee Debut
Dean Cosker, a former English first-class cricketer and member of the ICC’s Emerging Match Referees Group, will lead the playing control team in a Test for the first time when Sri Lanka and Pakistan meet in Rawalpindi and Lahore.
Cosker has officiated 16 ODIs, 17 T20Is, three women’s ODIs and six women’s T20Is since beginning his career in October 2024.
ICC Elite Panel umpires Adrian Holdstock and Allahuddien Palekar, both from South Africa, and Australia’s Rodney Tucker will handle on-field duties across the two Tests. In the Rawalpindi opener, Holdstock and Tucker will be the on-field umpires, with Palekar joining Holdstock for the second Test. Palekar will serve as third umpire in the first Test, while Tucker takes that role in the second. Faisal Aafreedi and Asif Yaqoob will be fourth umpires in the first and second Tests respectively.
T20I Series Officials Confirmed
For the three-match T20I series on October 9, 11 and 13, ICC International Match Referee Ali Naqvi will lead the playing control team.
- Rashid Riaz and Nasir Hussain will be on-field umpires in the first match.
- Faisal Aafreedi will stand with Nasir in the second.
- Rashid will join Faisal for on-field duties in the third.
- Faisal, Rashid and Nasir will serve as third umpires respectively across the three matches.
- Tariq Rasheed, a PCB National Elite Panel umpire, will be fourth umpire in all three T20Is.
The appointments set the stage for a demanding two-month stretch of international cricket in Pakistan, spanning three formats and involving three top-tier cricketing nations.
