The most obvious are the two currently in the 15-man squad playing against Sri Lanka, Sohail Khan and Yasir Arafat. Some may argue that they are not as express as Akhtar was but Umar Gul gets close enough anyhow and these two are not slow. The plus point for Arafat is that he is more than an accomplished batsmen also. Bowlers with the pace of Akhtar are rare so his replacement, I think, is more a question of their general or all-round talent and effect rather than the pace they bring. Of the left handed possibilities we have two, Samiullah Khan and Wahab Riaz. Abdur Rauf, another contracted pace bowler, is also a possibility but at 30 years old, age is not on his side.

Another thing to consider is the talent we have outcast in the Indian Cricket League (ICL) playing for the Lahore Badshahs. Noises coming from various corners suggest that it is only a matter of time before the ICL becomes recognised by the ICC. The PCB’s chairman Ijaz Butt recently said on the subject, “We don’t want our players to be banned because they have contracts with the ICL. The PCB has not directly banned the players, We have banned them under the ICC rules”. He went on, “The rules state that no tournament can be held without the home board’s permission and, in the case of the ICL, the Indian board does not recognise it as it runs its own league, the IPL”. Should the ICL become official and recognised, Pakistan would once again have the likes of Shabbir Ahmed, Abdur Razzaq, Mohammed Sami and Rana Naved-ul-Hasan to fill the place vacated by Akhtars possible departure.

On to the final possibility, Mohammad Asif. Currently in limbo, he is facing an inquiry into his detention in Dubai and a hearing in regards to his failed Indian Premier League (IPL) drugs test. There is an outside chance he would be cleared on both counts or may even serve just a short ban so will become available in the near future. If not, he may over take Shoaib Akhtar as the biggest waste of talent in Pakistan, if not world, cricket.

As for the Rawalpindi Express who was recently put up for trade by his IPL franchise, it looks like it’s a one way ticket to his last stop Bollywood.

Chief among Pakistan’s concerns and the major talking point was the performance of the Rawalpindi Express who seems to be grinding to a halt. Having bowled 7 expensive and wicketless overs he only managed 6 today taking one wicket and giving away 7.5 runs per over. Apart from not bowling his full quota of overs in both games, he also seemed lackadaisical and unenthusiastic in the field.

Two young fast bowlers in the current squad who will be hoping to get a game in the 3rd and final ODI on Saturday are Sohail Khan and Yasir Arafat. In the press conference afterwards, captain Shoaib Malik was pretty clear when questioned about Akhtar’s performance and the justification for his inclusion, “We have to move forward. There are a number of good fast bowlers around on the domestic scene and they deserve a chance. I will take this up with the selectors and team management and these things will be kept in mind.” He went on, “Everyone can see what is out there. The ability to bowl ten overs is there but the commitment in fielding that I want wasn’t there.”

Another worry for Akhtar was that early this month, John Buchanan, the Kolkata Knight Riders coach announced that he would be putting him up for trade saying “We don’t have room for both Umar Gul and Shoaib in the pace department. Shoaib is up for trade”. This will not have gone down well with the big ego of Akhtar and reading between the lines, it was obvious Buchanan was just letting him down slowly, in effect saying that Shoaib is not good enough anymore. With his two recent poor performances and the fact that he has been put up for trade by his IPL franchise, one would have to question the wisdom of the PCB in deciding to put Shoaib in the top of the three central contract categories.