Pakistan vs West Indies Test Series 2026 Player: Full Squads, Schedule, Venues and Everything You Need to Know
Pakistan’s tour of the West Indies is finally underway, and the two-match Test series between the sides has drawn plenty of attention for reasons beyond just the cricket. Babar Azam is back at the helm of the Pakistan Test side, both teams are fighting to climb off the bottom rungs of the World Test Championship 2025–27 standings, and the Caribbean pitches promise a genuine contest between bat and ball. Here is a complete breakdown of the Pakistan vs West Indies Test series 2026 — schedule, squads, venues, key players and everything shaping the tour.
Series Overview: Dates and Format
The Pakistan vs West Indies Test series 2026 is a two-match affair, running from 25 July to 6 August 2026, entirely hosted in Trinidad and Tobago. The tour was confirmed by Cricket West Indies (CWI) back in May 2026 as part of the board’s 2026 home international season, and it also marks the closing assignment of the current World Test Championship (WTC) 2025–27 cycle for both sides before fresh points start accumulating in the next cycle.
1st Test: 25–29 July 2026, Brian Lara Cricket Academy, Tarouba
2nd Test: 2–6 August 2026, Queen’s Park Oval, Port of Spain
Both venues are steeped in Caribbean cricket history. The Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba has increasingly become a regular red-ball venue in recent years, while the Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain remains one of the most iconic grounds in the region, known for pitches that tend to offer turn and variable bounce as a Test wears on.
Ahead of the series, Pakistan also played a four-day practice match against a West Indies Select XI at Tarouba from 18–21 July, giving the touring squad valuable time in Caribbean conditions before the first Test got underway.
Why This Series Matters: The WTC Context
Both Pakistan and West Indies find themselves toward the lower half of the WTC 2025–27 points table heading into this series, making the two Tests significant for both sides’ campaigns even though a WTC final berth is unlikely for either team at this stage. For West Indies, the series against Pakistan comes right after they wrapped up a home Test series against Sri Lanka in Antigua in late June and early July, and it precedes a two-Test tour of Bangladesh later in the year. For Pakistan, the Caribbean assignment is essentially the first leg of a longer, more demanding away season — the side moves straight from the West Indies to a three-match Test series in England, starting 19 August at Headingley, followed by Lord’s from 27 August and Edgbaston from 9 September.
That back-to-back scheduling explains a lot of the selection decisions on the Pakistan side, including squad management around senior players and the inclusion of uncapped talent to build depth for the longer haul.
Pakistan Squad for the West Indies Tests
Pakistan’s Test squad for this series carries a significant story: Babar Azam has been reinstated as Test captain, taking over from Shan Masood, who remains part of the squad as a senior batter. The Pakistan Cricket Board’s (PCB) Men’s National Selection Committee announced the squad on 5 July 2026 at a press conference in Lahore, naming a 16-member group for the West Indies leg specifically (a separate, slightly larger squad was announced for the England tour that follows).
Pakistan Test Squad vs West Indies:
- Babar Azam (Captain)
- Shan Masood
- Mohammad Rizwan (wicketkeeper)
- Mohammad Abbas
- Sajid Khan
- Imam-ul-Haq
- Salman Agha
- Ali Usman
- Khurram Shahzad
- Aamer Jamal
- Mohammad Ali
- Ghazi Ghori (wicketkeeper)
- Azan Awais
- Awais Zafar
- Ubaid Shah
- Abdullah Fazal
Four names in that list — left-arm spinner Ali Usman, right-hand batter Awais Zafar, right-arm pacer Ubaid Shah and wicketkeeper-batter Ghazi Ghori — are uncapped at Test level, reflecting the selectors’ intent to blend fresh faces with proven performers as Pakistan look to rebuild a settled core ahead of the England series. Notably, Saud Shakeel has not travelled for the West Indies leg due to fitness concerns, though he has been included as an additional member for the England tour, subject to fitness clearance.
Babar Azam’s reappointment is arguably the headline selection story of this cycle. Leading the side for a second stint as Test captain, Babar carries the weight of both his own personal form and the responsibility of steadying a batting unit that has looked for consistency over the past couple of seasons. Meanwhile, Mohammad Rizwan continues as the frontline wicketkeeper-batter, and the pace unit built around Mohammad Abbas, Khurram Shahzad, Aamer Jamal and the uncapped Ubaid Shah gives Pakistan a reasonably varied seam attack to work with in Caribbean conditions. Sajid Khan remains the frontline spin option, with Ali Usman offering a left-arm variation.
West Indies Squad for the Home Series
Kraigg Brathwaite continues to lead the core West Indies Test group for the home assignment against Pakistan, extending his long tenure as the side’s senior red-ball leader. The regular Test mainstays form the backbone of the squad, even as Cricket West Indies also fielded a separate 13-man West Indies Select XI for the four-day warm-up fixture in Tarouba.
West Indies Test Squad vs Pakistan:
- Kraigg Brathwaite (Captain)
- Joshua Da Silva (wicketkeeper)
- Alick Athanaze
- Keacy Carty
- Justin Greaves
- Kavem Hodge
- Tevin Imlach
- Amir Jangoo
- Mikyle Louis
- Gudakesh Motie
- Anderson Phillip
- Kemar Roach
- Kevin Sinclair
- Jayden Seales
- Jomel Warrican
This is a squad built around a stable top order — Brathwaite, Louis, Carty, Hodge and Athanaze have all featured together in the West Indies batting line-up in recent home series — with Joshua Da Silva keeping wicket and anchoring the middle order. The bowling attack blends the experience of Kemar Roach with the pace of Anderson Phillip and Jayden Seales, and there are two frontline spin options in Gudakesh Motie and Jomel Warrican, both of whom could be central to how West Indies attack on used Caribbean surfaces, particularly at Queen’s Park Oval, which is known for offering assistance to spinners as a Test progresses.
West Indies Select XI (Warm-Up Match)
Before the series began, Cricket West Indies fielded a separate 13-man Select XI captained by Jomel Warrican for the four-day warm-up match against Pakistan at Tarouba, played from 18–21 July. This gave a number of fringe and emerging players a chance to test themselves against the touring side.
West Indies Select XI squad:
- Jomel Warrican (Captain)
- Tagenarine Chanderpaul
- Kavem Hodge
- Cephas Cooper
- Jyd Goolie
- Joshua Da Silva (wicketkeeper)
- Ojay Shields
- Nial Smith
- Mbeki Joseph
- Joshua James
- Terrance Hinds
- Ryan Bandoo
- Anderson Phillip
A few names — Hodge, Da Silva, Warrican and Phillip — feature in both the Select XI and the full Test squad, which is a common practice for boards looking to keep their frontline players sharp with extra match time before a series begins, while also giving fringe players exposure against international-quality opposition.
Key Players to Watch
Babar Azam (Pakistan): Back as captain, Babar’s own batting form will be scrutinised as closely as his leadership decisions. A big series with the bat would go a long way toward silencing questions about his place at the top of Pakistan’s order heading into the tougher England assignment.
Mohammad Rizwan (Pakistan): As the frontline gloveman and a senior batting presence, Rizwan’s role in stabilising the middle order alongside Babar will be crucial, especially against a West Indies pace attack that can extract bounce on fresh Caribbean pitches.
Kraigg Brathwaite (West Indies): One of the most experienced openers in world cricket, Brathwaite’s know-how at the top of the order against the new ball, particularly against Pakistan’s seamers, will set the tone for West Indies’ innings in both Tests.
Joshua Da Silva (West Indies): The West Indies wicketkeeper-batter has developed into a dependable middle-order option, and his glovework will be tested by Pakistan’s mix of pace and spin across both venues.
Sajid Khan and Gudakesh Motie: Both frontline spinners will have a say in how the series pans out, particularly at Queen’s Park Oval, where surfaces have historically deteriorated and turned appreciably by the fourth and fifth days.
Venue Conditions: What to Expect
The Brian Lara Cricket Academy in Tarouba tends to offer something for both pace bowlers and batters early in a Test, with the tropical heat and humidity gradually opening up cracks that can help spinners as the game moves into its later days. Toss-winning captains at this venue often face a genuine dilemma between bowling first to exploit early moisture or batting first to avoid facing a testing final innings.
The Queen’s Park Oval in Port of Spain, the venue for the series decider, has a long-standing reputation for aiding spin bowling, particularly from the third day onward, making Pakistan’s spin resources — Sajid Khan and Ali Usman — and West Indies’ own tweakers, Motie and Warrican, potentially decisive factors in the outcome of the second Test.
What’s Next After the West Indies Tour
Once the two-Test series in the Caribbean concludes on 6 August, Pakistan will fly straight into an even bigger challenge: a three-match Test series in England, starting at Headingley in Leeds on 19 August, moving to Lord’s from 27 August, and concluding at Edgbaston in Birmingham from 9 September. That schedule underlines why this West Indies series is being treated by Pakistan’s team management as much as a form-and-fitness building block as a standalone contest — with several uncapped players given a chance to stake their claim before the squad is finalised for the tougher English conditions to come.
For West Indies, the series against Pakistan effectively closes out their home commitments in the current WTC cycle, following on from their recent home series against Sri Lanka, before their own next assignment takes them on the road to Bangladesh later in the year.
Final Word
The Pakistan vs West Indies Test series 2026 brings together two sides in transition — Pakistan under a reinstated Babar Azam looking to find batting stability before a tougher tour of England, and West Indies leaning on the experience of Kraigg Brathwaite and Joshua Da Silva to build on home advantage. With contrasting conditions at Tarouba and Port of Spain, spin likely to play a growing role as both Tests progress, and plenty riding on individual form ahead of bigger assignments later in the year, this series promises to be a closely fought contest between two teams both eager to end the WTC 2025–27 cycle on a positive note.
