Asif's uncommon injury is in his bowling arm

Asif missed four of the five one-day matches at home to South Africa last month because of the on-going injury.

Shafqat Naghmi of the Pakistan Cricket Board said: "Asif is not 100% fit and needs some more time to fully recover.

"It's a rare injury that doesn't need surgery or can be treated by medicine - he needs to exercise and strengthen the muscles around his elbow to recover."

606: DEBATE How much will Pakistan miss Asif?

No replacement for Asif was announced for series which begins in Guwahati on 5 November.

And Naghmi was unsure as to whether Asif would regain full fitness for the three-match Test series that starts on 22 November in Delhi.

"That's too early to predict, maybe he regains full fitness before the Test series, but we can't say in how many days Asif's injury would heal up," Naghmi said.

"But the balance of the team is not disturbed with Asif's absence, we still have four fast bowlers in the squad."

Asif however, is hopeful of playing some part in India.

"It is a big disappointment (to miss the one-day series) because a tour to India is always important and I wanted to be part of the team," he said.