I am the first to admit that India overall is a stronger Test team than Pakistan in Asia.
But India negligently squandered their chance to win a series in South Africa by:
1. Arriving far too late to acclimatise to the conditions (compare with Pakistan's excellent preparation in England in 2016).
2. Failing to pick proven Test players like Rahane who are specialists in such conditions.
3. Assuming that Limited Overs specialists have the technique or cricket brain to achieve in alien conditions. Pandiya's appalling ramp shot when the Second Test needed to be saved was the ultimate defeat for that strategy.
4. Assuming that reverse swing and spin can win Test matches in South Africa (or Australia or New Zealand). In general it is lift and pace and a full length on fourth stump which dismiss batsmen here.
So will Pakistan make the same errors?
The first thing they must do is recognise that their South African coach knows best. And when he says arrive 4 weeks before the First Test, just do it. At least South Africa is a cheap location to stay and practice and warm up in.
The second thing they must do is recognise that Yasir Shah will be as redundant as he was in Australia and New Zealand, where he averaged 65 with the ball. By all means pick a leggie, but at least Shadab Khan likes batting on bouncy tracks, and he will be far more useful in South Africa than Yasir Shah.
The third thing they must do is make sure they have 4 quick bowlers, and that at least 1 and preferably 2 are tall and fast. Once the Kookaburra goes soft, extra pace and lift are all that will keep the scoring rate down.
Fourthly, Pakistan will need batsmen with a track record against pace in Australian or South African conditions. That means Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq. It possibly means Babar Azam and Sami Aslam, who both looked okay at times Down Under, in spite of their failure to make big scores.
But India negligently squandered their chance to win a series in South Africa by:
1. Arriving far too late to acclimatise to the conditions (compare with Pakistan's excellent preparation in England in 2016).
2. Failing to pick proven Test players like Rahane who are specialists in such conditions.
3. Assuming that Limited Overs specialists have the technique or cricket brain to achieve in alien conditions. Pandiya's appalling ramp shot when the Second Test needed to be saved was the ultimate defeat for that strategy.
4. Assuming that reverse swing and spin can win Test matches in South Africa (or Australia or New Zealand). In general it is lift and pace and a full length on fourth stump which dismiss batsmen here.
So will Pakistan make the same errors?
The first thing they must do is recognise that their South African coach knows best. And when he says arrive 4 weeks before the First Test, just do it. At least South Africa is a cheap location to stay and practice and warm up in.
The second thing they must do is recognise that Yasir Shah will be as redundant as he was in Australia and New Zealand, where he averaged 65 with the ball. By all means pick a leggie, but at least Shadab Khan likes batting on bouncy tracks, and he will be far more useful in South Africa than Yasir Shah.
The third thing they must do is make sure they have 4 quick bowlers, and that at least 1 and preferably 2 are tall and fast. Once the Kookaburra goes soft, extra pace and lift are all that will keep the scoring rate down.
Fourthly, Pakistan will need batsmen with a track record against pace in Australian or South African conditions. That means Azhar Ali and Asad Shafiq. It possibly means Babar Azam and Sami Aslam, who both looked okay at times Down Under, in spite of their failure to make big scores.
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