Calling the cricket team’s upcoming tour of South Africa a ‘litmus test’ would be a cliché. That however does not mean it is not true. The team, since 2010, has been on a steady upward spiral and a large chunk of the credit for that goes to Misbah. It is indeed ironic that for years, fans have clamoured for a stable captain and team and when they finally have it, they want to take him to the gallows and replace him with someone who shows less maturity than a five year old even at the best of times.
The Misbah debate is likely to linger on forever so it would be best for now to focus on the team which has embarked on a tour that has traditionally been tough both on and off the pitch. While results under Misbah’s stewardship have been very impressive, they have largely come against mediocre opposition and/or in favourable conditions. Misbah began his stint as captain by drawing a series against South Africa that took place in the UAE. Suffice to say, South Africa in South Africa will be a completely different proposition.
The perennial batting woes are expected to come to the fore once again. Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali, in their brief careers, have shown plenty of grit and character. They will need all of this and much more if they are to succeed against the likes of Steyn, Philander and co. in their own backyard. Younis Khan, for reasons too obvious, will have to play a significant part if the team is to do well.
That being said, it is not the batting over which too many people will lose sleep for these issues have existed since time immemorial. The apparent lack of quality fast bowling options has been a worry for a while now and this could become painfully obvious during the course of this tour. The spin trio of Ajmal,Rehman and Hafeez have efficiently masked this deficiency over the last two years but on pitches that will not be so conducive to spin, the focus will squarely fall on the faster men.
Gul maybe the most experienced of the lot but he is hardly the most reliable especially in the longer format. Irfan could be a daunting prospect, both literally and figuratively but question marks remain whether he can last a full test. Junaid Khan has already shown he can be more than a handful even on placid tracks and will in theory enjoy the bowler-friendly conditions but pinning all your hopes on a 22-year old facing up to the likes of Smith, Amla and Kallis in his first major series could be asking a bit too much from the talented southpaw.
Combine all of the above with the fact that Pakistan has not played a test match for over six months and you sense a mauling coming your way. Man for man, the Pakistan team is no doubt inferior. One could even argue that the Pakistani teams that have toured and performed rather abysmally in the past were also superior to the current one but what those teams of yesteryear lacked and this one has in abundance are stability, cohesion and fighting spirit (not to be confused with in-fighting). The whole is greater than the sum of its parts perhaps best describes the current team. The question is will that be enough?
