Sri Lanka’s 2-0 whitewash of the Pakistan cricket team in the recent Test series has left observers dumbfounded.

Despite the unpredictable traits of the Pakistan players, no one could have anticipated the abject capitulation of the team, both in Galle and Colombo, especially in the second innings of the two Tests.

Sri Lanka’s ace spinner Rangana Herath proved the bane of Pakistani batsmen, returning with a magnificent haul of 23 wickets in both matches.

The diminutive bowler, though not as gifted as the legendary Muttiah Muralitharan, sliced through the Pakistan batting to virtually win the series single-handedly for the hosts.

Pitched man to man, Pakistan is perhaps a better side than the current Sri Lankan outfit, and riding on the back of a gruelling month-long preparation camp, one thought they were ideally equipped to counter the Islanders.

However, the manner in which our senior players, including skipper Misbah-ul Haq, Younis Khan, Asad Shafiq and Azhar Ali, lost their wickets to Herath was a sorry sight indeed and spoke volumes for our batsmen’s technique, or rather the lack of it, to counter quality spin.

Fingers are also being pointed towards seasoned campaigners like Moin Khan, Waqar Younis, Mushtaq Ahmed and Grant Flower, all paid handsomely by the Pakistan Cricket Board to mould this team into a world-class unit.

But it seems as if the army of coaches failed to prepare our players to tackle the Herath threat.

The harsh truth is that with just seven months left for the 2015 Cricket World Cup in Australia and New Zealand, the Pakistan team has a poor standing in world cricket, having been relegated to the sixth spot following the losses in Sri Lanka.

After numerous failed campaigns away from home, cricket pundits ought to realise that players from the subcontinent lack the mental toughness to counter top-class opposition in alien conditions.

England’s 3-1 thrashing of Mahendra Singh Dhoni’s Indians testifies to that. It is high time Pakistan and India took appropriate measures to address their weaknesses.

Published in Dawn, August 19th, 2014