Such is the high of Pakistan-India matches that a single win in the fixture could make you feel on top of the world and eyeing global glory.

On the flip side, it also has a rock bottom so deep that a single defeat could also make you question if your team is good enough to stand up to Afghanistan.

Read: 5 takeaways from Pakistan's predictable meltdown against India

This is precisely the situation facing Pakistan cricket team right now.

At this same time two days ago, Sarfraz Ahmed and co, were thought of as a high-flying outfit whom many thought would be genuine contenders for not just this Asia Cup but the World Cup as well.

Then India happened, and now the same group is being asked to rebuild their reputation from scratch. Suddenly, everyone remembers that there is a flaw in Fakhar Zaman's technique; Imam is parchi again; Sarfraz's one-year average is low; Asif Ali doesn't do much and Muhammad Amir is not taking wickets.

While some of those new-found, but long existing concerns do have merit, now is not the time for introspection and soul-searching. This is because in Afghanistan, Pakistan face a banana skin of a side.

On paper and in our minds, the Afghan side is supposed to be there only to make up numbers — an "also-ran" if you need a label. That perception probably stems from the fact that in the past two, three decades we have seen the cases of Sri Lanka and Bangladesh, both of who took their time in acclimatising to top level cricket.

For years and years, those two were the punching bags of cricket, and regularly took beatings against top side. Their evolution eventually happened but it was not without its pain.

Afghanistan's ascension, on the other hand, has been comparatively swifter. Not only were they made full ICC members after barely a decade of international cricket, but they have also started churning truly world class talent already.

This brings us to Afghanistan's danger man Rashid Khan. The precocious 20-year-old leg-spin all-rounder is number one on ICC's T20I rankings and number two on ODI rankings. He is by far his team's biggest weapon, and one Pakistan will have to be extremely wary of, considering their unexpected struggle against the Indian spin.

While the young Rashid is the most potent option in the Afghan repertoire, he is not the only one. In fact, the side has a very balanced bowling attack, reminiscent of Pakistan's own unit. Furthermore, like Pakistan, Afghanistan too is built to bowl the other team out.

This could be of consequence to the Men in Green whose batters failed miserably in their last outing. Now facing an in-form bowling unit, they will have to be extra, extra cautious.

From Pakistan's perspective, the question is: should they stick with or tweak the line-up that failed against India. As explained in the aftermath of the India game, the Pakistani batters' no-show that day had more to do with the pressure of that particular game than anything else. To make wholesale changes on the basis of just that one game would be a folly on folly.

Having said that, if someone really has to get the boot, then it has to be Asif Ali. Haris Sohail — a player who offers more reliability but less fireworks, and is completely the opposite of Asif — should probably get the nod.

The final word: do Pakistan have anything to worry about? Sarfraz and co can have plenty of headaches in this game as well but it's nothing they can't deal with. As promising as Afghanistan is, Pakistan should see them off.

Kumail Zaidi is a cricket aficionado based in Karachi.