Ireland men to tour Pakistan for first time in 2025

Ireland skipper Paul Stirling shakes hands with Pakistan captain Babar Azam at the start of the current T20 series

The Ireland men's team will embark on a first tour of Pakistan next year with the games provisionally pencilled in for August and September.

The news comes as the sides are locked at 1-1 in a three-match T20 series at Clontarf with the decider to be played on Tuesday.

Ireland will also face Pakistan in a group encounter at next month's T20 World Cup.

"I’m very pleased that we were able to agree a men’s tour next year - this will be yet another historic first, coming after the tour to Pakistan by our senior women in 2022," said Ireland Cricket chair Brian MacNeice.

“We were also briefed on developments in relation to the Pakistan Super League and potential opportunities for Irish players in PSL franchises.

“The Pakistan squad have been excellent ambassadors for their country over the last week and have been very generous in their interactions with fans throughout their time in Ireland.

"We very much look forward to the deciding game in the series and of course our meeting in the T20 World Cup next month.

“The cricketing friendship between Ireland and Pakistan runs very deep – indeed, the first meeting between the two sides was in 1962 here in Dublin, and Pakistan have been our opponent for both our inaugural women’s and men’s Test matches."