“Overhauled bowling attack  Naseem Shah can't take wickets. Except Yasir Shah ...Nothing much in bowling” read the assessment of another. 

The two youngsters, despite being only 17 and 20 respectively, had Akram-Akhtar levels of hype heading into the series due to their raw talent. And so, naturally, fans have been left infuriated and dissatisfied after seeing their output - 8 wickets in 8 innings at an average of 58.25 - which has mirrored Mohammad Sami and Wahab Riaz, rather than the two greats mentioned above. 

But it would be extremely obtuse - and far too ignorant - to dump the blame on the two youngsters and hold them accountable, for the brunt of their ineffectiveness must be borne by the management, who have, really, thrown both Shaheen and Naseem in at the deep end by plonking all responsibility on them. Talent and potential can sometimes drive expectations to an unrealistic degree, thus it is important to take a step back and acknowledge the absurdity of the task the Pakistan team management handed to Shaheen and Naseem, heading into this series - what they did was ask two kids, whose combined age is one fewer than that of Jimmy Anderson, and had combinedly played a total of 11 Tests between them prior to the start of the series, to go and win a series away in England for the country, effectively on their own. 

In other words, the management set Shaheen and Naseem off on an unconquerable task, knowing very well that they were going to fail. And, unsurprisingly, they have. Both bowlers have been worn down and exposed over the course of three Tests and four innings and they have, on more than one occasion, looked lost. Shaheen, for instance, has found it excruciatingly difficult to ask questions of the batsmen with the old ball, while Naseem has perennially struggled with his lengths, often delivering the ball too short on wickets that have pleaded bowlers to bowl full. 

Where the management ultimately failed was by exerting ginormous, unnecessary pressure on the duo, when they should instead have been protected, given freedom and allowed to thrive. In an ideal world, Pakistan should have fielded one of Shaheen or Naseem as the third seamer and asked them to just go out and express themselves.

That luxury was, of course, taken out of their hands due to the scarcity of quality red-ball bowlers after the retirement of Mohammad Amir and Wahab Riaz - which automatically enabled the fast-tracking of Shaheen and Naseem into the first-team - true, but even with the cards they had at their disposal, there was no excuse for Pakistan not to either rotate their pacers or field Sohail Khan as a fourth seamer. 

With all due respect to Abbas, his one-dimensionality - him being nugatory with the old ball and when there is no help - coupled with Pakistan fielding just three seamers has meant that Naseem and Shaheen have been forced to both push for wickets and do the dirty work; a situation that is far from ideal for young bowlers who are forcing their way into international cricket. 

What Pakistan should understand is that all great young bowlers of today were either groomed by veterans or walked into Test cricket with a ton of first-class experience under their belt. None of them magically became world-beaters as soon as they burst onto the scene. Both Rabada and Starc slowly but steadily took over the mantle from their seniors Steyn, Philander, Johnson and Siddle with time, while someone like a Bumrah had multiple seasons of Ranji under his belt before he broke through. Perhaps the exception is Cummins, who played Test cricket with just a handful of first-class matches for New South Wales under his belt, but by the time he became a success - 2017 and beyond - he had already spent 8 years in the sport, thoroughly understanding its nuances. And he was, by 2017, a mature 24-year-old - physically and mentally.