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Faisalabad stages international cricket after 17 years for Pakistan-South Africa ODIs

South Africa's players attend a practice session on the eve of their first one-day international (ODI) cricket match against Pakistan at the Iqbal Cricket Stadium in Faisalabad on November 3, 2025. (AFP)
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Updated 03 November 2025
AP
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Faisalabad stages international cricket after 17 years for Pakistan-South Africa ODIs

  • Since international cricket returned to Pakistan in 2015, Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan have hosted teams
  • But Faisalabad was overlooked due to a lack of proper facilities, which have improved over the last couple of years
Updated 03 November 2025
AP

FAISALABAD: International cricket returns to Faisalabad after 17 years when new ODI captain Shaheen Shah Afridi leads Pakistan in three matches against an under-strength South Africa from Tuesday.

Iqbal Stadium last hosted an ODI in 2008, before the attack on Sri Lanka's team bus the following year forced Pakistan to play home matches in the United Arab Emirates for six years.

Since international cricket gradually returned to Pakistan in 2015, major cities like Karachi, Lahore, Rawalpindi and Multan have hosted foreign teams. But Faisalabad was overlooked due to the lack of proper facilities, which have improved over the last couple of years.

“It is exciting to see international cricket return to Faisalabad,” Afridi said on Monday. “The team played good cricket in the T20 series and we aim to carry that momentum into the ODIs.”

Pakistan drew the Test series against South Africa 1-1, and defeated the Proteas in the T20s 2-1 after winning back-to-back matches in Lahore.

Pakistan hasn’t impressed in ODIs this year, which led to Afridi replacing Mohammad Rizwan as the skipper. Pakistan lost the triangular series final to New Zealand, missed the semifinals of the Champions Trophy it hosted, and lost in the West Indies 2-1.

Afridi led Pakistan in a T20 series against New Zealand last year but was sacked after losing to the Black Caps 4-1.

“Our job is to ... fulfil the responsibility given to us,” Afridi said. “We respect the decision of the (Pakistan Cricket Board) and now it’s up to me to lead from the front in the ODIs.”

Pakistan has a full-strength squad with Afridi complemented by fast bowlers Naseem Shah and Haris Rauf. Also, T20 captain Fakhar Zaman returns along with Babar Azam, who scored a match-winning 68 in the final T20 on Saturday.

South Africa was without injured captain Temba Bavuma and seven other front-line white-ball players.

The stand-in skipper was Matthew Breetzke, who made a stunning ODI debut during the triangular series in Pakistan when he scored 150 against New Zealand in Lahore.

Quinton de Kock has reversed his 2023 ODI retirement and Tony de Zorzi was their only century-maker during the Test series in Pakistan.

“We are lacking the core group of ODI players that we usually have,” Breetzke said. “It offers opportunity for the younger guys to step up.”

The other two ODIs will also be in Faisalabad on Thursday and Saturday.

 

Topics: Pakistan v South Africa

Pakistan’s Mahnoor Omer named among TIME’s ‘Women of the Year’ for 2026

Updated 01 March 2026
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Pakistan’s Mahnoor Omer named among TIME’s ‘Women of the Year’ for 2026

  • Omer moved a Pakistani court against the so-called ‘period tax’ in Sept. 2025 which has since sparked a national debate
  • Taxes on sanitary pads in Pakistan can add up to 40 percent to retail price, UNICEF says only around 12 percent women use such products
Updated 01 March 2026
KASHIF IMRAN

ISLAMABAD: Pakistani women’s rights activist Mahnoor Omer, who fought against taxes on menstrual products, has been named among the TIME magazine’s ‘Women of the Year’ for 2026.

Omer’s efforts have been recognized alongside 16 activists, artists, athletes and businesswomen in the TIME’s Women of the Year 2026 list, including Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Chloe Zhao.

Dissatisfied with the efforts to educate Pakistani girls about sexual violence, Omer founded the Noor Foundation at the age of 14 and held her own workshops with village girls about everything from climate change to menstruation, according to the TIME magazine.

Two years later, a conversation with a domestic worker about the price of pads made her realize that not everyone could afford these essentials. She moved a court against the so-called “period tax” in Sept. 2025 and the case has sparked a national debate on the subject, considered a taboo by many in Pakistan, since its first hearing late last year.

“A decade and one law degree after her interest in activism was sparked, Omer, now 25, is putting her passion and expertise to work in the name of gender equity,” TIME wrote about Omer on its website.

Taxes imposed on sanitary products in Pakistan can add up to 40 percent to the retail price. UNICEF estimates just 12 percent of women in the country use commercially produced pads or tampons. The alternative, using cloth, risks health impacts including rashes and infections, and can make it impossible for girls to attend school while menstruating.

Omer’s suit, which awaits the government response, has sparked a national discussion. She says she spoke about menstruation to her father and male cousins, who thanked her for standing up for their daughters.
The 25-year-old, who is currently enrolled in a master’s degree in gender, peace, and security at the London School of Economics, sees this case as just the first of many.

“I’m not free until every woman is free,” she was quoted as saying by TIME. “I want to leave no stones unturned in terms of what I can do with the next few decades, as a lawyer for the women in my country and gender minorities in general.”

Topics: Mahnoor Omer

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