Pakistan cricket team lost the home Test series against Australia. With the series loss Pakistan dropped to the sixth position in the ICC Test team rankings. Pakistan stand on seventh and third positions in the ODI and T20 rankings, respectively. India are on top in T20, second in Tests, and fourth in ODIs. Australia stand first, third and sixth in Test, ODI and Twenty20, respectively.

The gap between the T20 and Test status shows that Pakistani players don't have the patience for the longest version of the game. Test cricket needs temperament, skills and patience, while the shortest version mainly requires power hitting.

The Greenshirts are specialists in the shortest format of the game. They proved it in the last T20 World Cup. If in future ICC organises a ten-overs tournament, Pakistan will be among the favourites. The simple reason is that due to too many T20 leagues, our batsmen have lost their temperament. Now they want to hit every ball and can't wait for a bad delivery.

After the introduction of One-day Internationals in 1971 and launching of the Cricket World Cup in 1975, spectators and sponsors' interest transferred to limited overs cricket.

Pakistan traditionally have not had a good run in Test cricket. Especially since the early 90's, we have been considered good at ODI cricket and just competitive enough in Tests.

The recently concluded Pakistan-Australia Test series is one of the examples. In the first two Tests, in Rawalpindi and Karachi, 1187 & 1244 runs were scored but both ended without producing any result.

In February 2019, then International Cricket Council (ICC) chairman Shashank Manohar accepted that the longest format of the game is dying as these days' people don't have five days to watch Test cricket.

But in May 2019, the renowned Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) conducted a survey, asking more than 13,000 responders in over 100 countries what their preferred format was. An overwhelming 86 percent of them voted for Test cricket, according to a statement issued by the MCC.

The Test matches in Pakistan proved Manohar's statement right.

Our domestic structure is afflicted by politics and favouritism. It has failed to produce technically sound players. If we want to compete at international level, our domestic cricket should be made highly competitive.

The management should concentrate on the betterment of Test cricket which is real cricket. Test matches on dead pitches can't attract fans and sponsors.

Under the mature and calm leadership of Misbah-ul-Haq, Pakistan became a very strong Test side. In 2016, Pakistan became the number one Test team following an impressive 2-2 draw in the four-Test series in England. There was a huge difference between Pakistan and other teams who secured the top position. Pakistan had not played at home for around a decade, missing the benefits of home ground and crowd.

But it was a short-term success story as Pakistan failed to retain the top position. The year 2017 was not a great year for team Pakistan in Test cricket and the number one team slipped to the seventh spot.

Decline came in both batting and bowling departments as the team's overall average dropped from 29.35 to 26.16, while the strike rate dropped from around 50 to 43.24.

After the retirement of Misbah and Younis Khan, a huge gap has been created in the middle order. The four-day domestic matches in Pakistan are not widely followed. The simple reason is that people have no interest in a game played between WAPDA and NBP or other departments, unless both teams have huge stars. The matches are mostly tedious and non-competitive, and the ground conditions are pathetic.

Another reason for the downfall of Test cricket is T20 leagues that make Test cricket less popular around the world.

A large number of players around the world have been quitting Test cricket. It allows them to make more money in a short time.

Twenty20 cricket provides an action-packed atmosphere on the ground and usually attracts crowds. Many cricketers around the world have turned to T20 cricket in a bid to prolong their careers and pocket millions of dollars.

T20 leagues have become a lucrative business, organised in all cricket-playing countries.

Many Pakistani cricketers don't take part in domestic cricket for "personal reasons" but always remain available for money-making matches abroad, even in non-Test playing countries.

The PCB should take notice of the players' engagements in T20 leagues abroad. They are our national assets and the board is paying them salary and other benefits. It also incurs heavy expenditure for their treatment when they are injured. But when the team needs a 100 percent fit player he is not available for the national side.

The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) should make a policy for their cricketers that if a player quits Test cricket without management permission he will not be considered for ODIs and T20Is. This way, the cricketers will have to think twice before announcing sudden retirement from Test cricket for the sake of money.

Pakistan cricket has suffered a lot due to the ill-planning by some individuals. If the PCB officials should work for the betterment of the infrastructure in Pakistan. It has been said time and again that the domestic structure of cricket in Pakistan needs a radical overhaul. Only then will we be able to fully overcome the issues facing the sport.

If attention is not given to domestic structure, Pakistan will continue struggling in Test cricket.

khurrams87@yahoo.com