Pakistan's Poor Test Run

Pakistan men's cricket team has always been a tough team to support. When they are on the rise no team in the world can stop them. But, when they're going through a rough patch it is, all-consuming for them and their fans. No Pakistani cricket team fan would ever feel the need to ride a roller coaster in their life because their national team takes them to places no other cricketing fan could imagine. 

A recent example of Pakistan's poor test format has been enough for their fans to visit hell and beyond. It is the hardest job in the world being a Pakistani cricket team fan.

Their recent run in test cricket has not been so great. Since the day Misbah-ul-Haq announced his retirement and that too after lifting the test mace, Pakistan's test form has been on a constant decline. The board and the authorities have had difficulties in naming the new captain in past where they named Azhar Ali first, which did not last long. Sarfaraz Ahmed was named the captain for all three formats. He took charge as he has been regarded as a very hard working and enthusiastic cricketer since the first edition of the PSL. 

He has been on a high since then and has produced some great results in One-day Internationals and T20 Internationals. Under his captaincy, Pakistan has won 20 out of 32 games in ODI and 29 out of 33 in T20 which is extremely applaudable. But, the problem is in test cricket. Pakistan has lost 7 out of the 12 games played under his captaincy which is shocking compared to the record of the other formats taking in perspective the fact the team has been mostly similar across all formats. 

They are experiencing problems in the bowling area where they used to be the strongest. Their batting has always been unpredictable. After the recent loss against South Africa at Cape town the captain came out himself in saying that the bowling was not up to par. 

Maybe the problem here is that they have been very focused on shorter formats of cricket that it has been difficult for them to make the transition. This captaincy and the dressing room is really hard working but they might require help out of local Pakistani test cricketers like Younis Khan and Misbah-ul-Haq to make it easier for the players to play 5-day cricket.