Pakistan’s recent winning streak seemed too good to be true and in the end it didn’t last long. Just when almost everyone was getting convinced that this Pakistan Test team was far different from the national teams of the past which were notorious for their unpredictability, Sharjah happened. Just when Pakistan were looking set to record a historic 9-0 clean sweep, they just threw it away by allowing a mediocre West Indian team to achieve a stunning victory in the third and final Test.

Though it was a dead rubber, Pakistan should have shown more hunger considering that they needed a 3-0 result against the West Indies in their bid to snatch back the world number one title from arch-rivals India. There was also the added incentive of becoming the first team in history to record clean sweeps in all three formats after whitewashes in the T20I and ODI clashes.

It was surprising to see a lack of intent as the Pakistanis never really exerted themselves. At times they reminded me of the great Australian sides captained by Steve Waugh and Ricky Ponting, who would surprisingly go on to lose dead rubbers after emphatically winning the series. However, there is no comparison. Pakistan might have ascended to the top of the world rankings and are still placed at number two they are yet to really establish themselves as a team that could be compared to the mighty Aussies.

Pakistan have done well done well under Misbah in the last six years but almost all of their series triumphs against the top sides have come in the UAE. Pakistan will only be actually taken seriously as the number one team in the world once they beat top sides like Australia and South Africa in their own backyards. Even beating New Zealand, whom they face in a short away series later this month, will be an achievement.

Mickey Arthur was right in pointing out that the shock Sharjah defeat was like a wake-up call for Pakistan, who will be taking on Australia in Australia after the two-Test series in New Zealand. The Aussies might be down these days but even then they are going to be far more formidable opponents that the West Indians were in Sharjah. In Sharjah, Kraig Braithwaite exposed the shortcomings in Pakistan’s much-vaunted bowling arsenal. In Australia, they will have to deal with the likes of Steve Smith and David Warner - much better and more established batters than the young Braithwaite.

Hopefully, the Sharjah loss was a lapse in concentration and the Pakistanis will be back in the sort of businesslike mood they have been displaying in recent times. They better do that. Misbah is a few Tests away from retirement and time is also running out for Younis. Soon they will be gone and I fear that Pakistan might slump like the Sri Lankans did once the duo of Mahela Jayawardene and Kumar Sangakkara bid farewell to international cricket. It is important that Pakistan continue to bolster their line-up, especially their batting which will find it tough to bear the loss of Misbah, and later Younis. Pakistan have done well in recent times by bringing in young faces like the vastly-talented Babar Azam but results like Sharjah can undo a lot of hard work.

It wasn’t a particularly good week for Pakistan sports considering that the country’s hockey team also suffered a major loss as it failed to defend its Asian Champions Trophy crown in the Malaysian city of Kuantan. To add to insult to injury, the defending champions were beaten twice by the Indians during the course of the tournament first in the league stages and then in the final.

It was once again clear that Pakistan still lag way behind even against India, a team against whom they had a good track record in the recent past. Pakistan are languishing at a dismal 13th place in the international hockey rankings and it is apparent that they need a lot of hard work to improve their position. At the moment, even teams like Ireland and Canada - once counted among the minnows in international hockey -- are ranked higher than the four-time former world champions.

The Indians, in contrast, are the highest-ranked Asian team in the rankings at No. 6, behind world number one Australia, Argentina, the Netherlands, Germany and Belgium.

One of the many reasons why India have overtaken Pakistan is the fact that in the last few years, they have cleverly invested in their teams at the senior and junior levels. They have made Roelant Oltmans, who coached Pakistan back in 2003-4, their national coach and the results are showing as the Indians have risen in the rankings on the back of a series of impressive results. Pakistan, in the meantime, was dogged by the fact that a group of incompetent officials with vested interest ran the sport for several years before getting overthrown last year. The duo of Brigadier Khokhar and Shahbaz Ahmed, who currently head the Pakistan Hockey Federation (PHF), is trying to rebuild the team but it is going to take time. The problem is that the clock is ticking for Pakistan considering that they face a series of important challenges in the near future.