Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 1st Test Where to Watch: Free on Tapmad, Squads and Start Time

Tapmad lists the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 1st Test as "Watch Free" for the match starting on Monday 9 November 2026 in Rawalpindi. We read that on Tapmad's own home page on 7 November. The listing sits under its "Upcoming Sports Free" heading, and it does not carry the "Subscribe to Unlock" label that its premium matches show.

The match runs for five days, 9 to 13 November, at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, with a reported 9:30 am start. Below are the links, the other options, both squads and what is still not confirmed. Nobody can press play yet, so we have not tested the stream itself.

Tapmad lists the 1st Test as a free stream

Tapmad has a dedicated page for the first Test and calls it "Watch Free". The page belongs to a tour section named Sri Lanka Tour of Pakistan 2026. The free label is Tapmad's own wording, read on 7 November before the match.

Open the Tapmad page for the 1st Test on Sunday night and sign in if it asks you to. That leaves time to fix a password or update the app before play. The same home page shows premium matches beside it, such as New Zealand vs India, so check that you have opened the right one.

A free label does not cover your data. Five days of video on a mobile package will use a lot of it, so lower the video quality if the app allows it. That matters more for a Test than a T20, because a full day of play runs for about seven hours.

PTV Sports and PCB Live carried the last series

PTV Sports, PCB Live, Tapmad and Tamasha all carried the October ODI tri-series, the PCB said then. We could not read a PCB notice naming the Test partners, because its website refused our connection on 7 November.

So treat these three as likely, not confirmed, for this match. Watching cricket live on mobile in Pakistan comes down to the same few apps each series, and PTV Sports is the usual choice for anyone with a dish or cable. Check the channel on Monday morning.

The 1st Test runs from 9 to 13 November

Pakistan host Sri Lanka at Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium from Monday 9 to Friday 13 November 2026. The second Test follows at Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore from 17 to 21 November. Both count towards the ICC World Test Championship 2025-27.

The 9:30 am PKT start is reported, not confirmed on a PCB page, and it comes from a public scoring schedule we read on 14 October. Our note on the start times for both Tests explains that. If you plan to go in person, tickets for the Rawalpindi game start at Rs 200 a day, as the PCB said on 5 November, and the full list is under first Test tickets.

1. Install or update the Tapmad app, or bookmark its page, by Sunday night.
2. Sign in and open the 1st Test page to confirm it still says free.
3. Check PTV Sports on Monday morning if you watch on television.
4. Tune in from about 9 am so you catch the toss if the reported time holds.

Babar Azam leads Pakistan's squad of 14 plus 2

Babar Azam captains the 14 players named on 24 October, the ICC reported. Selectors said two pacers from the Patron's squad would join after the warm-up ended on 6 November. We could not find those two names on an official page we could open.

Sameer Minhas, Mohammad Taha and Mohammad Suleman are all uncapped. Shan Masood, Abdullah Shafique, Sajid Khan and Noman Ali are out. For how the side was picked, read the Pakistan Test squad report.

Kusal Mendis leads Sri Lanka without Nissanka

Kusal Mendis captains Sri Lanka's 15. Sri Lanka Cricket named its squad on 13 October with Pathum Nissanka in doubt. He was then ruled out with a hamstring injury and Lahiru Udara came in, as we reported on 4 November.

The rest are Pasindu Sooriyabandara, Dinesh Chandimal, Kamindu Mendis, Sonal Dinusha, Dhananjaya de Silva, Anjala Bandara, Keshara Nuwantha, Prabath Jayasuriya, Milan Rathnayaka, Lahiru Kumara, Asitha Fernando, Dilshan Madushanka and Eshan Malinga.

Watch Dinusha. The ICC named him its Men's Player of the Month for August after 420 runs in two Tests against India. More detail on the warm-up is in our page on both warm-up squads.

Three things are still not confirmed

The two extra Pakistan pacers, the warm-up result and the PCB's own list of broadcasters could not be confirmed on 7 November. We have left them out rather than repeat what we could not read at an official source.

Pakistan went into this series ninth and last in the World Test Championship on 4.63 per cent, the ICC said on 31 October. Our WTC points table page has the sums. Two wins would lift their percentage, but they would still have a long way to climb.

One warning. Search results fill up with "live cricket" links before any Pakistan match. Do not install an app from a link in a comment or a WhatsApp forward. Use the app store and the broadcaster's own site.

Common questions

Is the Pakistan vs Sri Lanka 1st Test free to watch?

Tapmad lists it as "Watch Free" on its home page, read on 7 November. We could not test the stream before the match starts.

What time does the 1st Test start in Pakistan?

A 9:30 am PKT start is reported. We have not seen it on a PCB page, so check on Monday morning.

Which channel shows the Test on TV in Pakistan?

PTV Sports showed the October ODIs, as the PCB said then. We could not read a PCB notice for the Test series.

Where is the 1st Test being played?

At Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium, from Monday 9 to Friday 13 November 2026.

Who captains Pakistan in the Sri Lanka Tests?

Babar Azam. Kusal Mendis captains Sri Lanka.

Is Pathum Nissanka playing?

No. He was ruled out with a hamstring injury and Lahiru Udara replaced him.

How we verified this

What we checked, where we read it, and what we could not confirm.

We read Tapmad's home page, the ICC report on Pakistan's squad and Sri Lanka Cricket's squad release on 7 November 2026. The PCB website refused our connection that day, so its facts here come from releases recorded in our earlier reports.