India have announced their 13-man squad for the second Test of the four-match series against Australia which is scheduled to take place in Perth, starting Friday.
Big blow for the visitors is that apart from opener Prithvi Shaw, middle-order batsman Rohit Sharma and spinner Ravinchandran Ashwin too have been ruled out of the blockbuster clash at the new stadium in Perth.
In a statement issued by the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), it was revealed that the trio will miss the upcoming clash due to respective injuries. While Shaw sustained the injury during the team’s warm-up clash against Cricket Australia XI, Ashwin and Rohit sustained injuries in the Adelaide Test, which India won by 31 runs to go 1-0 up in the series.
“Prithvi Shaw is recovering well from his left ankle injury but still undergoing treatment. R Ashwin has a left-sided abdominal strain and is receiving treatment at the moment. Rohit Sharma jarred his lower back while fielding in the 1st Test at Adelaide,” the BCCI statement read.
“The team management is closely monitoring these players and a call on their availability for the third Test will be taken at an appropriate time.”
Rohit had been taken off the field in the second innings as Australia made the 323 run chase with the back injury and has, unfortunately, been unable to recover. In Rohit’s absence, Hanuma Vihari becomes prime candidate to come into the setup for the No. 6 slot – which was the toss up in the opening Test.
India’s 13-man squad: Virat Kohli (C), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane (VC), Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (WK), Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav
