Ashwin out of Perth test

India could unleash four quicks for the second test against Australia in Perth after losing offspinner Ravichandran Ashwin to injury.

The tourists, whose victory in Adelaide handed them a 1-0 series lead, named a 13-man squad for the test starting today at the new Optus Stadium.

Ashwin, who sent down 52 overs in the second innings in Adelaide, has been ruled out with a left abdominal strain.

Rohit Sharma has been sidelined after he jarred his back while fielding and batting prodigy Prithvi Shaw remains unavailable with an ankle injury.

Spin-bowling allrounder Hanuma Vihari is tipped to replace Rohit, who had already been on shaky ground after twin batting failures in Adelaide.

The inclusion of Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar adds intrigue given predictions of a fast and bouncy Perth Stadium pitch.

India lined up with four pacemen at the WACA test in 2012 which Australia won by an innings and 37 runs.

The spicy Perth Stadium deck will hold no fear for an Indian pace unit widely considered to be the best the nation has produced.

Skipper Virat Kohli on Thursday made reference to India’s victory over South Africa this year on a green Johannesburg deck he rated as the toughest he had played on.

‘‘We certainly get more excited than nervous looking at lively pitches now,’’ Kohli said.