Younis Khan has the opportunity to make the highest score by a Pakistan batsman © AFP

Karachi's pitch may have killed the match but it has rejuvenated Younis Khan. His triple hundred will always be diminished by this docile track despite the pressure of chasing down a total of over 600. It shouldn't be. Much more illustrious Pakistan teams and batsmen have crumbled on as friendly surfaces. The pressure of the situation has been too great and their strength of character too weak. Indeed, which other Pakistan batsman has threatened to score a century?

Meanwhile, Younis has devoured this challenge with an innings that could earn him the highest ever score by a Pakistani. It would be well deserved. The new captaincy, a selection row, criticism of his leadership in the field, a score of over six hundred, and the bowling combination of Murali and Mendis have all made this innings a test of Younis' mental strength and character. He has passed with a flourish and an ever present smile.

His square drive to reach a century and reverse sweep to the triple hundred were typical Younis: classical yet innovative and fearless. The road to recovery for Pakistan cricket will be long and interrupted by failure. But Younis Khan has already shown that he is a man with the guts to lead Pakistan cricket out of the living hell of the past two years.

	Mahela Jayawardene and Thilan Samaraweera hit double-centuries in Karachi © AFP

The Pakistan Cricket Board has introduced a daily lottery to attract spectators. The next marketing strategy might be to pay people to attend? If that didn't work, the PCB would have to admit it has a team that nobody wants to watch. The best marketing strategy, without doubt, is to have a successful and exciting cricket team. Younis Khan's new team may be some way from either of those labels but this is just the beginning.

Karachi's pitch has been easy paced and the bounce has been friendly, a graveyard for most bowlers, not just Pakistan's assortment of characters with something to prove. It is a pitch that allows a bowler of high pace or sharp turn to make a genuine difference. Pakistan have neither of world class in this match.

Yet it is tough to return to Test cricket after 14 months, and some of the disciplines will take a while to return. Add that to the excellence of Sri Lanka's batting, and you can see why the lottery of choosing an inexperienced attack might fail.

The real test of Younis Khan's team will come when they face Murali and Mendis. A huge total will offer Sri Lanka's world class bowlers the freedom to attack, while creating immense pressure for Pakistan's untried batting line-up. Indeed, Shoaib Malik and Danish Kaneria have shown that the pitch will become increasingly receptive to good spin bowling.

There can be few bigger challenges in international cricket - even for a team with a new found solidarity forged in an isolation camp. The Age of Khan begins with a monumental struggle.

	An out and out rookie, Ahmed Shehzad, adds to the fascination, a typically random Pakistani punt © Cricinfo Ltd.

After a year of impatient waiting, Pakistan's cricketers return to Test cricket at a venue that has robbed them of more matches than any other. Taking on a variable Sri Lankan team would have been challenge enough but Pakistan's selectors and captain have added to the task by conjuring an inexperienced team from their immediate disagreements.

The relationship between Younis Khan and Abdul Qadir will be interesting to observe, as both have strong opinions and are prone to actions inspired by emotion rather than cool reflection. At least, there will be no shortage of passion.

On balance, though, the outcome is intriguing. Yes, Kamran Akmal's selection continues to confound reason. Faisal Iqbal is an unexpected recall. And Sohail Tanvir's omission seems unduly harsh. Nonetheless, the selection strikes a populist note by recalling Fawad Alam and Asim Kamal, and offering opportunities to Sohail Khan and Mohammad Talha. An out and out rookie, Ahmed Shehzad, adds to the fascination, a typically random Pakistani punt.

Surely, Pakistan's isolation camp will not be enough to transform this wealth of inexperience into a winning combination against the old hands of Sri Lanka? Yet the final fifteen all have something to prove, none more than experienced players like Younis Khan, Shoaib Malik, Danish Kaneria, and Kamran Akmal.

With Sri Lanka focused on fond farewells to their excellent captain, Pakistan's hunger for Test cricket and success should give Younis Khan the opportunity to make a fighting start in a series that his team will not be expected to win.

Absence, however, makes the crowd grow hungrier too, and Pakistan's fans are notoriously unforgiving--and this is an occasion that requires patience. Pakistan have the right captain, and now they must find the right players. The question is how much tolerance and understanding the public and media will show as Pakistan cricket enters another era of rebuilding? But giving the current squad an opportunity is a decent enough beginning to the Age of Khan.

	The plummeting trajectory of Pakistan cricket has claimed Mohammad Yousuf as a major victim © Getty Images

The Pakistan Cricket Board is inquiring again into the circumstances of the forfeited Test at The Oval in 2006. It is an inquiry without a clear purpose. The match is now recorded as a technical defeat but the result is an irrelevance.

Although it was a moment when Pakistan cricket fought its corner in the world of cricket politics, two consequences have caused immeasurable damage. First, the rift between Inzamam-ul Haq and Bob Woolmer became ever wider. Second, the controversy ushered in Naseem Ashraf's disastrous reign as head of Pakistan cricket.

It was also the year that Mohammad Yousuf claimed the record number of Test runs in a year. Yousuf batted beautifully. He was easy on the eye yet his mind was tough. He was unbeatable and unswerving in his commitment to score more runs. The best years of his career were upon us. But the plummeting trajectory of Pakistan cricket has claimed him as a major victim.

Yousuf has done himself few favours. He has harboured a thinly veiled grudge over the cricket board's failure to appoint him as captain. His decision to turn to the ICL was rash and career threatening. And now, it is hard to imagine that his decision to see out his ICL contract is driven by principle rather than self interest.

Nonetheless, Yousuf has just cause for complaint. The purge of religion from Pakistan's team identified him as its most obvious target, and Shoaib Malik failed to bind his senior colleagues--and most notably Yousuf--to his cause. Too quickly, Yousuf moved from being indispensable to being yesterday's man, when his form and ability merited a greater respect and expectation.

The greatest failing, however, is that the Pakistan Cricket Board, like all other international cricket boards, slavishly followed the BCCI's lead in condemning ICL cricketers to a career without recognition or international cricket. Hence, whether Yousuf has arrived at his position through laziness or greed, the central point is valid: Why should players be unable to hold ICL contracts and play international cricket?

If there is an inquiry that the PCB needs to conduct with urgency it is one that questions the legitimacy of the stance of its fellow cricket administrations. Indeed, Pakistan cricket has lost more current international cricketers than any nation to ICL. How long will this abuse of cricketers and their international careers be allowed to continue without a serious challenge? This may not have been Mohammad Yousuf's intention but it should become the cause that reunites Pakistan cricket and gives the new cricket board immediate credibility.

It could be any other moment that Younis Khan has been offered the captaincy. Pakistan cricket is in crisis and Darrell Hair is making a play for the headlines. Yet this occasion is much different. Hair's most recent rant is a sideshow and Younis has grabbed the captaincy with both hands. Indeed, his previous reluctance has meant that this ascendancy to the captaincy comes when Pakistan cricket is at the most crucial turning point in its history.

Pakistan's form has been variable for years, nothing new there. Its administration has been dysfunctional, nothing new there either. But this last year has questioned the viability of Pakistan as an international cricket nation. Form and organisation become secondary issues when your very existence is threatened.

Sri Lankan has ridden to Pakistan's rescue when all other major nations have turned away. It is a debt that Pakistan cricket must remain mindful of and repay at the appropriate time.

But as Shoaib Malik discovered, a drought of cricket is accompanied by a deluge of expectations. We should be clear what those expectations are. They are not that Pakistan should crush Sri Lanka into the dust, though a victory would be a joy. The real test of Younis Khan's Pakistan is whether or not it can fight its corner with pride and passion.

Younis, the best batsmen in the current team, has no reason to doubt his place, and the captaincy should bring out the best in his competitive nature. As captain, he is naturally an encourager and cajoler, involved in every development of play.

His example will count for much but he will require the support of his senior colleagues. This is not a moment for Pakistan's cricketers to indulge their private agendas. The condition of Pakistan's cricket is too perilous. It is a moment for unity, spirit, and a reminder that pulling on a green cap is the most important occasion in a Pakistani cricketer's career.

Sri Lanka will be formidable opponents. Younis Khan will need time to settle into his leadership role. But the success of this forthcoming tour should not be judged by the result. It should be judged by the attitude and resolve of Pakistan's players. Reluctant Younis has picked his moment with care. Can he seize it?