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KARACHI: Pakistan have named three uncapped players Asif Afridi, Faisal Akram and Rohail Nazir for the upcoming South Africa Test series scheduled to take place later this month, the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) said in a statement on Tuesday. 

South Africa, champions of the ICC World Test Championship 2023-25, will take on Pakistan in the first Test at the Qaddafi Stadium in Lahore from Oct. 12-16. The second and final match of the two-Test series will be played at the Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from Oct. 20-24.

Pakistan’s national selection committee announced the 18-member Test squad for the series, which will be part of the World Test Championship 2025-27 cycle. The PCB announced that the squad will be further trimmed ahead of the first Test. 

“Shan Masood will continue to lead the side, while three uncapped players – Asif Afridi, Faisal Akram and Rohail Nazir have also been included,” the PCB said in a statement. 

The squad includes Aamir Jamal, Abdullah Shafique, Abrar Ahmed, former Pakistan captain Babar Azam, Akram, Hasan Ali, Imam-ul-Haq, Kamran Ghulam, Khurram Shahzad, Mohammad Rizwan (wicket-keeper), Noman Ali, Nazir (wicketkeeper), Sajid Khan, T20I skipper Salman Ali Agha, Saud Shakeel, and pacer Shaheen Shah Afridi. 

The two-Test match series will be followed by three T20Is and as many ODIs, to be played from Oct. 28 to Nov. 8. The squad for the white-ball series will be announced in due course.

TOUR SCHEDULE

Oct. 12-16– First Test at Qaddafi Stadium, Lahore

Oct. 20-24 – Second Test at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi

Oct. 28– First T20I at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, Rawalpindi

Oct.31 – Second T20I at Qaddafi Stadium, Lahore

Nov. 1 – Third T20I at Qaddafi Stadium, Lahore

Nov. 4 – First ODI at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad

Nov. 6– Second ODI at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad

Nov. 8 – Third ODI at Iqbal Stadium, Faisalabad

Pakistan will look to begin their World Test Championship 2025-27 on a winning note against South Africa and put behind their five-wicket loss to India in the Asia Cup 2025 tournament. 

The French Open will continue to use line judges for the 2026 edition despite the other three Grand Slams having already switched to an Electronic Line Calling (ELC) system, the French Tennis Federation said.
The ELC system was first deployed as an experiment at the Next Gen ATP Finals in Milan in 2017 before being more widely adopted during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The ATP Tour has implemented the system at all of its events from this season, and while the Australian Open, US Open and Wimbledon now rely on the technology Roland Garros is opting to retain the human element for at least another year.
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ELC, which has been developed to account for the differences in grass, hardcourt and claycourt surfaces, is now also available across a wider range of tournaments below the Grand Slams and elite tours.
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