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The Twenty20 champions will face a credibility test on their tour of Sri Lanka.
Having hardly played any Test matches for nearly two years, Pakistan will try hard to prove a point.
The three-Test match series gives them the perfect stage to show the world they are a force to reckon with in any form of the game.
Sri Lanka has never been an easy country to tour. Some of the best teams in the world have struggled there.
The Lankans know how to use their home conditions. They have two of the best spinners in the business in Muttiah Muralitharan and Ajantha Mendis who are experts at exploiting the conditions.
There is no doubt that wickets will be prepared to suit the two strike bowlers. Sri Lanka also have a good battery of pacemen to complement their spinners.
Pakistan need to be positive at the onset. They have all the talent needed to succeed at the highest level but they often fall by the wayside due to lack of self-belief and unity.
Fortunately, Younus Khan is at the helm now and this will help. Somehow, the skipper manages to bring out the best in his team. His major plus point is that he listens to his players which many of his predecessors would not do.
Shahid Afridi and Umar Gul have credited their success in the Twenty20 World Cup to him. It is unfortunate that Afridi will not be there to help his team this time as he has opted out of the Tests.
Fast-tracking Mohammed Yousuf and Abdul Razzaq to the Test team after their Indian Cricket League exile was a sound move by the selectors.
The return of Yousuf to the Test fold adds much needed class and solidity to the batting. Razzaq is a steady, accurate bowler who will be the perfect foil for the fast men.
However, Pakistan's perennial problems these days are with the openers. Salman Butt is a fine Test player but he has been unable to find a partner. Khurram Manzoor gets a chance to add to his two Test caps and cement his place as an opener.
The batsmen must learn to be aggressive against Mendis. Their victory in the Twenty20 final was largely due to the fact that the Pakistanis did not let Mendis dictate terms.
Pakistan will have to put up decent totals to let the bowlers do their work.
The bowling attack is excellent. The unsung Gul is a fine exponent of the new ball and a master at yorkers. New boy Mohammed Aamer, at 17, is a potential threat with his left arm bowling.
Off-spinner Saeed Ajmal is in line for a Test debut and he will prove an ideal foil for the admirable Danish Kaneria. It will all boil down to attitude. Being positive will pay.
