In a year of so many shockers, I was almost tempted to have one of my own last October. Then Pakistan were taking the field for their third and final Test against the West Indies in Sharjah. With the series already secured following emphatic wins in Dubai and Sharjah, the hosts were looking set for a clean sweep. There was already talk of a buoyant Pakistan team’s chances of winning its first ever Test series in Australia. As one of the many soothsayers, who thought that such a task was possible, I wrote that Pakistan find themselves perfectly placed to achieve a goal that seemed like mission impossible in the past - a Test series triumph in Australia. But knowing Pakistan’s capacity to self-destruct, I did raise the question: But do they have enough self-belief to make it happen?

Over the course of a few weeks it became apparent that they didn’t, at least not in sufficient doses. I mean there was the courageous Brisbane fightback from Asad Shafiq and the tail, a memorable MCG double ton by Azhar Ali and a century under pressure from Younis Khan in Sydney. But such successes were few and far between in a series which was dominated by the likes of Steve Smith, David Warner, Peter Handscomb, Josh Hazzlewood and Jackson Bird.

Before the three-Test series, both teams seemed almost at par. The Aussies with the home advantage and the Pakistanis with the sort of hunger you need to excel in Test matches Down Under.

There were signs that Misbah-ul-Haq and his men will finally change history and achieve something that their predecessors failed to win - a Test series in Australia. Before their tour of the antipodes, Pakistan had established themselves as one of the best Test teams in the world. The Aussies in contrast were reeling from a home series defeat against South Africa.

But even before Pakistan’s arrival in Australia, things had started to change. Their back-to-back losses in Christchurch and Hamilton in the two-Test series against New Zealand must have dented Pakistan’s confidence, something that was evident in the manner that they collapsed in their first innings in the pink ball Test at the Gaba. Since then, Pakistan mostly played catch-up during the best part of the Test series. In the end, they slumped to a 220-run defeat in the third and final Test in Sydney. It was their fourth consecutive 3-0 whitewash in Australia since 1999 - a stat that aptly underlines the vast difference between the two sides.

Even though things seemed to be falling into place ahead of the series, Pakistan once again failed to find the silver bullet they badly needed against a side that scares them the most - Australia.

That silver bullet was supposed to be the bowling arsenal.

On paper, it looked reasonably strong, almost potent. With accomplished pacers like Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz along with Yasir Shah, widely regarded as the best leggie in the world today, the attack looked good enough to deliver on Australian tracks.

On the field, however, they turned out to be paper tigers. Barring a good spell here or there, Pakistan’s bowling was a huge disappointment throughout the series. It was easily the worst bowling performance by Pakistan in a long, long time.

Before arriving in Australia, Mickey Arthur predicted that Wahab Riaz would be Pakistan’s demolition man in Australia. Pakistan’s head coach believed that with his express pace and ability to get reverse swing, the left-armer would be Pakistan’s ‘weapon No.1’ in Australia. Arthur also expected Amir to put in a better show. But like so many predictions that backfired in 2016, Arthur’s also turned out to be off the mark.

Wahab did bowl with pace but without much discipline or purpose. Amir continued to disappoint considering that many still expect him to be Pakistan’s chief wicket-taker. Yasir was comfortably neutralised by an Australian team that had a point to prove after falling tamely to South Africa at home.

Following twin disasters in New Zealand and Australia, it seems that Pakistan’s Test team has almost returned to the same place it was back in 2010 when Misbah-ul-Haq took charge. After six mostly successful years, time’s up for the 42-year-old skipper. Against all odds, Misbah rose to become Pakistan’s most successful captain. He garners immense respect in the country’s cricket circles and with due reason. He could risk all of that by staying on.

But a Misbah departure at this juncture could be a big blow for Pakistan. Remember 2010 when the team was rocked by the spot-fixing scandal? It won’t be as bad, but minus Misbah, things could get gloomy for Pakistan. Before Misbah, three men joined hands to almost sound the death knell for Pakistan. One of those three men - Mohammad Amir - is back as a permanent member of the team. The other two - Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif - are threatening to return.

To make matters worse, Misbah’s apparent successor Azhar Ali has failed to establish himself as the sort of leader that the team will need once the current skipper retires. Azhar has silenced his critics with a series of good knocks against Australia but fact remains that he is not a great captain. In fact, personally I believe that he could do better with the bat without the burden of captaincy. Remember Sachin Tendulkar? A great batsman but a bad captain.

What happened in New Zealand and Australia has left Pakistan with a lot of questions. Whether they will be able to find the right answers remains to be seen.