There’s a crunch ODI series underway in England with the second ODI at Lord’s scheduled for tomorrow, that we would have been discussing under normal circumstances. But it’s not just another day if the national cricket team is crowned the world’s top Test side for the first time in nearly three decades - or the first time ever since the official ICC rankings were devised.
For a team that hasn’t played a home match for over half the period since the International Cricket Council came up with a ranking system for Test sides, to actually sit at the summit of the rankings is a sporting achievement for the ages. It doesn’t matter if it takes months or weeks for another team to supplant Pakistan, it is unlikely that we’d see a worthier number-one side than the current team that has played all its cricket in exile.
The ICC Test rankings factor in the previous four years of Test cricket - the latter two counting twice as much as the former two. But for Pakistan, it is a six-year window that has turned the fortunes around for the side.
Home cricket or not, off-field scandals or not, the most 'un-Pakistani' cricketing approach or not, the current Pakistan Test side is simply the topmost cricket team in the world
It is between the England tours of 2010 and 2016 that one of the greatest sporting stories of all time was written.
But before we talk about that fateful tour six years ago, it is absolutely imperative to talk about what happened the year before that.
When the Sri Lanka cricket team was attacked in 2009, everyone knew that there won’t be any cricket in Pakistan in the near future. But optimists that we are, most of us defined ‘near future’ rather conveniently. After all, Pakistan was scheduled to host the 2011 World Cup along with India, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh.
But as the frequency of terror attacks increased back home, the chances of Pakistan hosting any meaningful cricket nosedived.
Number 1 in the world
It is in this backdrop that the spot-fixing saga of 2010 threatened to completely wipe Pakistan off the cricket map. Pakistan lost its two best bowlers and the only functional opening batsman, along with home cricket, with even the most optimistic fan acknowledging that it would be years before Pakistan could even think of being competitive in the longest format of the game.
With Misbah taking over the reins in the autumn of 2010, Pakistan remained unbeaten in all series played over the next year and a half, losing only a single match. These included South Africa (Home), New Zealand (Away), West Indies (Away), Zimbabwe (Away), Sri Lanka (Home), Bangladesh (Away) and England (Home) - the latter a 3-0 whitewash of the then top-ranked Test side in the world.
Reality checks followed, thanks to Sri Lanka and South Africa in 2012-13, with Pakistan losing both the Test series. Since being whitewashed by South Africa (Away) in February 2013, three years ago, Pakistan have only lost one Test series: Sri Lanka (Away) in 2014.
After the 'Maghrib' chase against Sri Lanka
These three years have seen Pakistan whitewash Australia, beat England 2-0, beat Sri Lanka in Sri Lanka and this summer bouncing back to earn a much deserved 2-2 draw in England that eventually proved decisive in crowning Pakistan as number 1.
A lot has been written and will be written about the Misbah years. From out-spinning opponents in the desert to creating a team greater than the units, from developing a middle-order dexterous enough to match the best of the Pakistani Test sides to creating a counter-attacking ethos so pivotal to getting results away from home - Team Misbah’s accomplishments are multitudinous and often miraculous.
However, amidst all the eulogies for Misbah and his team one mustn’t forget that it is only after the recently concluded England series that Pakistan has truly established itself as the best in the world - not just on the ICC rankings, but more importantly in the eyes of the peers and experts.
And this time it isn’t because it’s a war-torn exiled team that has to fight itself more than anyone else. Home cricket or not, off-field scandals or not, the most ‘un-Pakistani’ cricketing approach or not, the current Pakistan Test side is simply the topmost cricket team in the world.
It is important to qualify Pakistan’s achievements by highlighting what this group of players has been through, but the rankings never measure any of that.
In simple words, Pakistan are simply number 1 because of what they do on the pitch. The off-field demons would be reduced to footnotes if the team kicks on from here. Because after all, getting to the top is just the first chapter of this new fascinating story that Misbah has scripted for the time to come.
