'Thanks Pakistan, it's been a torture': A Pakistan fan's hilarious placard at Edgbaston goes viral after England's 3-0 whitewash win

'Thanks Pakistan, it's been a torture': A Pakistan fan's hilarious placard at Edgbaston goes viral after England's 3-0 whitewash win originally appeared on Cricket News. Add Cricket News as a Preferred Source by clicking here.

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A Pakistan fan's viral placard reading "Thanks for coming, it's been torture" perfectly captured the mood after England's historic 3-0 whitewash.

Pakistan suffered their first-ever Test series whitewash in England across 18 series spanning 72 years of cricket history.

Mohammad Abbas won Player of the Series with 13 wickets, while debutant Razaullah emerged as the rare bright spot for Pakistan.

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'It's been torture!': Pakistan fan's brutally honest Edgbaston banner takes internet by storm after English whitewash

England completed a historic 3-0 Test series whitewash over Pakistan, and one fan's placard summed up the entire tour in six short lines.

It had a mix of affection, dark humour and the kind of brutal honesty that only fans can deliver.

Standing somewhere in the Edgbaston stands, a Pakistan supporter held up a sign that read: "THANKS FOR COMING PAKISTAN. IT'S BEEN TORTURE! BUT WE LOVE YOU! SEE YOU NEXT YEAR. SAFE FLIGHT HOME."

It was self-deprecating, warm and perfectly pitched. The kind of fan tribute that only makes sense when you've watched your team suffer and still can't bring yourself to walk away.

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A whitewash that made history for all the wrong reasons

The result in Birmingham was Pakistan's third straight defeat of the series, completed by eight wickets after England chased down just 130.

Pakistan dismissed both English openers for ducks in the same over on the final morning and for a brief moment, it looked interesting. But Joe Root and Jordan Cox shut the door, and Pakistan's tour was officially over.

The scale of the embarrassment is worth spelling out. Pakistan have played 18 Test series in England going back to 1954, worth 72 years of history, and yet they have never been whitewashed before.

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Their previous worst result was a 0-4 defeat in a five-match series way back in 1962. A 0-3 loss in a four-match series came in 2006. But there was never a clean sweep until now.

Pakistan barely reached 200 in any innings across the first two matches, with both games wrapping up inside three days. The only occasion they showed real resistance was in the second innings at Birmingham, which at least bought them a fourth day of cricket.

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Amid all the chaos, two names stand out as reasons for Pakistan to feel something other than despair.

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Mohammad Abbas, 36, was exceptional throughout. The veteran seamer took 13 wickets across the three Tests, including a five-wicket haul at Lord's, and walked away with the Player of the Series award.

And then there was Razaullah Khan, the 21-year-old who claimed four wickets in the first innings at Edgbaston before walking out at number nine and smashing 81 runs with nine sixes.

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The placard was funny, but it holds a mirror up to Pakistan

The placard worked because it captured something the extraordinary amounts of pain that fans go through, and yet they keep coming back anyway. It's a testament to how deep the bond between Pakistani fans and their team runs, even through tours like this one.

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But the humour shouldn't disguise what this result actually means. A first-ever whitewash in England, 16 defeats in 21 Tests, a captain who learned about squad changes from a press release, and a coaching reshuffle done in panic. Pakistan cricket has a structural crisis, not a performance blip.

MORE: Hesson ready to continue as Pakistan Test coach despite series whitewash in England

Abbas and Razaullah are positives, but one experienced bowler and one explosive debutant don't fix a batting lineup that can't cross 200, a board that appears to bypass its own captain, and a culture that reacts to failure with chaos rather than careful planning.

The writing said "see you next year", and Pakistan's supporters will be back. But they deserve a team that returns the loyalty with something more than another placard's worth of suffering.

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