KARACHI: After the dreaded news of Saeed Ajmal being banned from bowling went on air Tuesday morning, Pakistan cricket, undoubtedly, were dealt perhaps their crippling blow in recent years.

The decision to disallow the ace off-spinner from competing at the international level, at least for the time being, is obviously most ill-timed with Pakistan’s next assignment against Australia less than four weeks away.

So what are the options now for the national side to fill the huge void left by Ajmal’s absence. Given the rigid stance adopted by the International Cricket Council (ICC) to counter the ‘menace’ of illegal bowling actions, it was something waiting to happen. It was a writing that wasn’t read by Ajmal’s employers — the Pakistan Cricket Board — until the verdict was delivered.

Without their main wicket-taker in all forms through the past three years (Saeed has the most international wickets across all formats, 284 in 121 matches in this period followed by Dale Steyn (225 in 79) and Rangana Herath (224 in 80), it is hard to imagine how would Pakistan compete against Australia next month.

There is no logical successor to Ajmal to really speak of to provide the wicket-taking option for Pakistan and none was allowed to groom as such by the PCB. This is the ground reality that Pakistan must now have to live with.

The other day Australia named Steve O’Keefe as their probable weapon for the Pakistan Tests after having minutely monitored the exploits of Herath who tormented Misbah-ul-Haq’s men to no end during the two Tests in Sri Lanka last month. Like the quiet Sri Lankan southpaw, O’Keefe is also a purveyor of orthodox left-arm spin.

It is a known fact that the conditions in Dubai and Abu Dhabi suit spinners more than bowlers of other types, unless you are a Mitchell Johnson who relies on fearsome pace and has the uncanny ability to extract awkward bounce on even the most unresponsive of tracks.

The yawning gap left by Ajmal’s departure could open the doors of international cricket for Atif Maqbool who is regarded highly by many on the domestic circuit. Having played first-class cricket since 2001-02, Atif, who will be 33 on Nov 21, has enjoyed a couple of bountiful seasons in 2012-13 and 2013-14.

After picking up 55 wickets in the Quaid-i-Azam Trophy two seasons ago, Atif was more impressive the following winter when he not only snared 58 wickets but also led United Bank Limited (UBL) to the final of the President’s Trophy and easily the leading wicket-taker last season.

On the basis of his performance (a tally of 246 wickets in 58 first-class games at 26.38), Atif is the frontrunner if Pakistan are looking for a befitting replacement of Saeed.

Among other probable candidates are Adnan Rasool. One thing common between Adnan and Ajmal is that both were born in Faisalabad but Adnan switched over to Lahore where he took up the sport as a profession.

Adnan, born on May 1 in 1981, has claimed 142 wickets (ave 24.89) in 40 first-class appearances since debuting in 2002-03. But unlike Atif and Ajmal, Adnan is a genuine bunny when it comes to batting because he averages just 8.52 with a best score of only 22. Atif’s batting average is marginally better (12.22) with an unbeaten 45 being his highest.

The most unlikely candidate is Misbah Khan (87 wickets in 31 games at first-class level). At 27, the Karachi off-spinner has time on his side to improve his game. But unlike Atif and Adnan, Misbah hasn’t figured in first-class cricket in 2013-14 and played a few limited-overs fixtures in the national event.

In the ODI and T20 formats, Pakistan might do without a specialist off-break bowler in the immediate future, but they would definitely need someone to do the job in the upcoming Tests against the Australians. This is indeed a massive dilemma which would be extremely difficult to overcome after Tuesday’s ICC announcement.

Published in Dawn, September 10th , 2014