By Shayan Siddiqui (10th December 2012)

With just 15 days remaining until Pakistan’s first tour of India in five years, the selectors unveiled the names of the squads for the two ODIs and three T20s against the arch-rivals. The headline-grabbing news was the omission of Shahid Afridi from the ODI squad, the first time he has been dropped for poor performance since the 2006 tour of the Caribbean. In the last 10 ODIs in which he has batted, Afridi has scored 85 runs at an average of just 9.44 to go with seven wickets at 45.77. It’s hard to argue based on these numbers that the chief selector Iqbal Qasim made the wrong call.

"Dropping Afridi was a difficult decision" Qasim told reporters at the Gaddafi Stadium, Lahore. "He is no doubt a great player and has the ability to win a game, but the decision has been taken in the interests of the team. We did retain him in the T20 squad and if he performs well, can win back his ODI place in the future. Meanwhile, we are looking for a youngster as Afridi's replacement and I am sure we will find the right man soon from the domestic circuit."

Apart from Mohammad Hafeez, the only other potential all-rounder in the ODI squad is 25 year-old Anwar Ali, who played one T20I against Zimbabwe in 2008 in which he bowled two overs for 19 and didn’t have the opportunity to bat. He produced some good performances in the recently concluded President’s Trophy, but has since struggled to make a mark in the FBT20 tournament, failing to pick up a wicket in his last five outings. Fans will hope Anwar Ali can produce the goods at international level because the Pakistani cupboard looks bare as far as fast bowling all-rounders go.

One player that may feel particularly hard done by is the right-handed medium pacer Aizaz Cheema. Cheema has a decent ODI bowling average of under 26 after 14 matches, despite having played all but 2 of those games on the unfriendly sub-continental style wickets of Bangladesh and the UAE. Just two ODIs ago he produced some wonderful death bowling in the last over of the Asia Cup final to win the title for Pakistan, yet the selectors opted to recall the duo of Wahab Riaz and Umar Gul. It may well be a good move, particularly in the case of Riaz, who rattled the Indian batting with five wickets in the World Cup semi-final in Mohali last year.

A middle order containing Azhar Ali, Younis Khan and Misbah Ul-Haq is probably not what most Pakistani fans want to see, which is why the think-tank must ensure that the left handed batting talent Haris Sohail gets a chance in the playing XI and isn’t discarded without a game, as so many have been in the past. A first-class average touching 53 and a List-A strike rate above 80 suggests that Sohail has the tools needed to succeed, and he may just be able to play an ODI innings at the correct pace, a skill lacking in too many of the current batsmen.

Haris Sohail wasn’t the only one rewarded for a strong domestic showing, as on his 34th birthday left-arm spinner Zulfiqar Babar received a maiden call-up to both the ODI and the T20I squads. His domestic bowling average in all three forms of the game is under 18, and he has produced some fabulous match-winning performances in the last couple of weeks. With the impressive Raza Hasan currently sidelined due to injury and Abdul Rehman nearing the end of a 12-week ban, Babar will hope he is given the chance to demonstrate his talent against the Indian batting line-up.

There were a few other changes to the squad that went to Sri Lanka for the T20 World Cup, as Abdul Razzaq, Yasir Arafat and Imran Nazir were all dropped and replaced by Junaid Khan, Ahmed Shehzad, Asad Ali, Muhammad Irfan and Umar Amin. Irfan was a particularly surprising selection considering the Under-19 fast bowler Ehsan Adil was widely tipped to earn a call-up after shining in domestic cricket this season.

"Irfan is a surprise package," Iqbal Qasim said. "Nobody is discouraged, I know we have Ehsan Adil and Imran Khan on the bench waiting for the call and they will be considered soon. They are our future prospects. Irfan currently is in good form and he has the height advantage and could be our surprise package. I am sure he will live up to our expectations and will perform very well. We have always beaten them when we are consistent with the batting, with bowling as an advantage, so I hope these teams will have good results on the tour."

The series between the two Asian rivals begins with a T20I on Christmas Day, the first of two T20Is at Bangalore and Ahmedabad. The three ODIs then commence on 30th December at Chennai, Kolkata and Delhi.