Pakistan have lost just 8 tests to New Zealand, while they have won three times as many! Pakistan have lost fewer tests only to Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. Their W:L ratio of 3.0 against New Zealand is their second best W:L ratio.

Safe to say that Pakistan have been quite dominant over the Kiwis in Test cricket.

Even in New Zealand's seaming conditions, which are alien to Pakistan's batsmen, Pakistan has dominated with 10 wins to New Zealand's 5.

Some may say that given the history of dominance, Pakistan may treat these upcoming two tests against New Zealand as a warm-up to their tour of Australia.

That may be a grave mistake.

History might be on Pakistan's side, but Trent Boult, Tim Southee, and Matt Henry are on New Zealand's.

Those three have the capability of running through any batting line up.

Pakistan's batsmen have been in sterling form for a while now so they are no pushovers, but they will have to be at the top of their game in seaming conditions.

Its not like they will be playing pokies at the source where they can try their luck.

It will be interesting to watch what batting combination Pakistan goes in with. Given the conditions in New Zealand the 5 batsmen-WK-Allrounder strategy may not work and Pakistan will have to move back to their original successful formula of 6 batsmen + WK.

Additionally, with no requirement to play an additional spinner, Nawaz may not be required.

The next question is that will Azhar Ali continue to open?

If he does, it allows Pakistan to play a middle order comprising Asad, Younis, Misbah, and the super talented Babar Azam.

If Azhar moves back to his preferred number 3 then Sharjeel will be included in the XI and Babar will have to miss out. This will also move Asad back to number 6.

This is probably going to be the most important decision that Pakistan's think tank takes on this tour.

Nevertheless, the batting definitely has a more sorted look than the bowling.

Yasir Shah along with three seamers is what the bowling will probably feature. The question is which three seamers?

Mohammad Aamer, Wahab Riaz, and Sohail Khan seems likely. But Rahat Ali was a great asset in England so maybe he will be preferred to Sohail.

The thing to look forward to with the bowling is surely Aamer's swing in New Zealand's conditions. The English summer was quite dry and Aamer barely got any swing. New Zealand might be different and it might end up being the tour that Aamer needs to bounce back to his very best in Test cricket.

Pakistan vs New Zealand has provided plenty of exciting matches in the past and this promises to be yet another exciting Test series.

Sharjeel Khan's inclusion in Pakistan's test squad for the two match series against New Zealand has met with mixed reactions.

Rightly so given the sort of batsman he is.

My initial thoughts on Sharjeel were that at best he is a T20 batsman. His initial international outing in 2013 also showed that he was best suited for T20s, however he was dropped from both limited overs formats after failing in ODIs.

Following the PSL last year, Sharjeel was drafted back into the T20 and ODI squads. In T20s he continued his striking form, while in ODIs he left plenty to be desired with a number of failures in between some sterling whirlwind knocks.

For me, he remains a great T20 batsman and an average ODI one.

So then why has he been selected for the test squad?

What were the selectors thinking?

Is he the best choice for opener / reserve opener in the test squad?

Sometimes it just feels like the selectors are making a play at a Casino and trying their luck at winning with a new opener.

With Sami Aslam cementing one of the openers slots, it was Azhar Ali's initial hesitancy to open in tests, which resulted in the selectors looking for a third opener for the tour.

Having given it some thought, Sharjeel may not be a bad choice despite his average performances in ODI cricket.

Many have likened Sharjeel's stroke play to that of Virender Sehwag and David Warner, both of whom played ODI cricket for a couple of years before breaking into the test squad. All three are quite similar in terms of how they approach batting.

A glance at Sehwag's and Warner's careers shows that they had / have far better performances in Tests than in ODIs. While Warner has closed the average gap in recent times (48 in tests; 41 in ODIs), Sehwag ended his career with a Test average of 49 and an ODI average of 35.

Even thought both batsmen have the aggressive nature to excel in ODIs and T20s, they were far more prolific in Tests than in the limited overs formats.

A look at their ODI performance before either made their test debut bears a lot of similarity with Sharjeel's performance.

Misbah Ul Haq is currently captaining Pakistan in a test match for the 49th time, 1 more than the number of times Imran Khan captained Pakistan.

Misbah has not only captained Pakistan in more matches than anyone before him, he has also won more and scored more than any Pakistan captain before him. On many other fronts, he has surpassed all other captains from not only Pakistan, but also the subcontinent! He is undoubtedly at the helm of the most successful test team Pakistan has ever had, and is without a doubt the best test captain Pakistan has ever had.

1. Most Successful Asian Captain

While there are a few captains from around the world who have had far more success, Misbah is the clear leader among all captains from the subcontinent.

With 24 wins, he is well ahead of Imran Khan and Javed Miandad, and just behind MS Dhoni who registered 27 test wins.

However, in terms of series wins, Misbah now has 10, which is the most by a captain from the subcontinent. The current series win over the West Indies took Misbah ahead of Dhoni and Ganguly who has 9 series wins each.

2. Most Successful Pakistan Captain

Misbah has 10 more test victories than Imran Khan and Javed Miandad did as captains. He is well ahead of them, and will remain as Pakistan's most successful captain ever for a long time to come.

The past 6 years under Misbah have been magical for the test team. There is a stark difference between Pakistan's performance in the 6 years before Misbah and the 6 years under him.

3. Most Successful Batsman as a Pakistan Test Captain

Out of all Pakistan test captains who have batted in at least 20 innings, Misbah has the most runs, highest average, most hundreds, and most fifties.

He is at the top of the pile and will probably remain there for a very long time.

4. Best Test Average among all Test Captains

Among all captains who have batted in at least 75 test innings, only Brian Lara averages more than Misbah does.

5. Most Runs as Captain Batting at Number 5

Which test captains are most remembered for their sterling batting performances at number 5?

For me, Steve Waugh tops the list. Inzamam, Allan Border, Arjuna Ranatunga, and Hansie Cronje also come to mind.

Misbah is above all of these names and many others as a batsman at number 5 while captaining his team. He has more runs than anyone else, and only Michael Clarke averages more than him as a number 5 test batsman as captain.

6. Most Century Partnerships and Partnership Runs for Pakistan

When Misbah ul Haq and Younis Khan posted their 15th century partnership during the second test against the West Indies, they also went past Younis Khan and Mohammad Yousuf's record tally of 3,137 partnership runs for Pakistan.

Misbah and Younis now stand 5th in the world in terms of most century partnerships ever in test cricket. Not to mention that they are right at the top for Pakistan.

Their average is also right up there with very few pairs of batsmen (Hobbs & Sutcliffe and Langer 7 Ponting) ahead of them.

To think that Misbah has achieved most of this after the age of 35 is nothing short of remarkable. Most captains have retired before that age. Misbah is 42 now and still going strong, creating record after record for Pakistan in test cricket.

He has captained them to the top of the rankings (currently at two), he has led them to victories over all nations in the UAE where Pakistan remain unbeaten for 6 years, and he has created one of the most successful test sides in the history of the game.

Misbah is captain magnificent.