Last Updated on 1 minute ago by Dom Harris
It has been announced that England will take part in a rare ODI tri-series later this year against Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
The double round-robin series is sandwiched between Sri Lanka’s all-format tour of Pakistan, with the two sides facing off in the opener on October 18 and the final scheduled for October 31.
Rawalpindi will host the first three matches, before the three teams head to Lahore to face off again.
Tri-series return as World Cup preparations ramp up
This is the second year in a row that Pakistan have hosted an ODI tri-series, having welcomed New Zealand and South Africa in February 2025 ahead of the ICC Champions Trophy.
They also hosted Sri Lanka and Zimbabwe in a T20I triangular series last year.
England have not participated in a white-ball tri-series since 2018, when they faced Australia and New Zealand in T20I’s. It has been eleven years since they did so in the ODI format, against Australia and India, ahead of the 2015 World Cup.
It will be their first time back in Pakistan since the dismal group-stage exit in the 2025 Champions Trophy which signalled the end for Jos Buttler’s reign as white-ball captain.
This will also be England’s third meeting with Sri Lanka in white-ball cricket in 2026, having won away ahead of the T20 World Cup at the start of the year and set to meet in a home series next month.
Harry Brook’s side – who impressively beat India 2-1 in July – will also tour Australia for a white-ball series following their stop-off in Pakistan, in what is a busy period with a South Africa Test tour and home Ashes series on the horizon for England, ahead of next year’s ICC World Cup in South Africa, Zimbabwe and Namibia.
Triangular series are widely popular among fans and tend to hold more interest and excitement than traditional bilateral series which have become increasingly stale in the modern era.
They can also be viewed as an ideal way to integrate smaller nations outside of major ICC events.
ODI tri-series schedule
18 October – Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Rawalpindi
20 October – Pakistan vs England, Rawalpindi
22 October – Sri Lanka vs England, Rawalpindi
25 October – Pakistan vs England, Lahore
27 October – Pakistan vs Sri Lanka, Lahore
29 October – Sri Lanka vs England, Lahore
31 October – Final, Lahore
