Pakistan and Sri Lanka will play their second Test at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from November 17 to 21,2026, after PCB moved it from Lahore. The board’s November 10 notice says increasing smog prompted the venue change; the dates remain the same. Kusal Mendis’s Sri Lanka will therefore stay in the city hosting the first Test.
The change comes during Mendis’s first series as Sri Lanka’s Test captain. PCB’s tour preview identifies the November 9–13 Rawalpindi match as his first Test in charge, while the ICC’s updated report lists both Tests in Rawalpindi. For followers of the Sri Lanka–Pakistan series, the next fixture’s location has changed even as the current match continues.
The venue changed; the dates did not
The earlier PCB preview placed the second Test at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore. Its subsequent November 10 relocation notice replaces that venue with Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium and repeats November 17–21. An older tour listing naming Lahore therefore describes the original plan; it does not override the later board announcement.
PCB describes the reason as prevailing weather conditions and quotes its spokesperson confirming increasing smog in Lahore. That is the board’s stated basis for the move. The notice gives no air-quality measurement or numerical threshold for moving the match. It records a change of stadium while retaining the playing dates.
Why PCB moved the match and the current-series context
The first Test supplies the cricketing context rather than a result for the second. In its report dated November 10, the ICC says Pakistan declared at 434/9 and Sri Lanka closed Day 2 at 114/3. That is a dated end-of-day snapshot, not a live score for November 11. The report names Kamindu Mendis as 40 not out and records Kusal Mendis taking the catch that dismissed Saud Shakeel for 93; the two Mendis references concern different players.
The two-match series forms part of the 2025–27 World Test Championship. For Mendis’s side, the revised Test itinerary now stays in one city across both matches, replacing the planned move to Lahore. That is the practical consequence of the board’s decision for the next stage of his first series as Test captain.
Start-time scope and official follow-up information
PCB’s original preview schedules play at 9:30 am Pakistan time across both Tests, equivalent to 10 am IST. The later relocation notice reconfirms dates and venue rather than issuing a new start-time statement. Use the updated PCB notice for the venue and the official tour and ticket channels for subsequent conditions; that notice does not explain whether an existing Lahore ticket transfers or how a refund would work.
The firm change is the second Test’s location: Rawalpindi, with November 17–21 retained. That is the announcement to use before arranging travel for the next match, while any old Lahore ticket needs the organiser’s specific instructions rather than an assumption of validity. The earlier preview’s Pakistan television and streaming listings also do not establish Indian viewing rights.
Original sources checked on November 11,2026. Statements, observed results, forecasts and unverified conditions are distinguished.
- Second test match between Pakistan and Sri Lanka relocated from Lahore to Rawalpindi | Press Release | PCB ↗
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