Perth, Dec 13: India's premier spinner Ravichandran Ashwin and batsman Rohit Sharma have been ruled out of the second Test starting here on Friday, dealing a double blow to the visitors at a time when opener Prithvi Shaw is yet to recover from an ankle injury.

With the trio unavailable for selection, India included Hanuma Vihari, Ravindra Jadeja, Umesh Yadav and Bhuvneshwar Kumar in a 13-man squad announced on eve of the second Test.

While Shaw injured his ankle while fielding in the sole warm up game before the series opener, Ashwin suffered an abdominal strain and Rohit hurt his back during the first Test which India won by 31 runs.

"Prithvi Shaw is recovering well from his left ankle injury but still undergoing treatment. R Ashwin has a left-sided abdominal strain. He is receiving treatment at the moment. Rohit Sharma jarred his lower back while fielding in the 1st Test at Adelaide. He is undergoing treatment. He too is ruled out of the second Test," read a statement from the BCCI.

"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," it added.

Ashwin's unavailability is a big loss as he had taken a six-wicket haul at Adelaide to help India record their first win in a series opener in Australia.

Rohit, who made a Test comeback at the Adelaide Oval, was expected to retain his place in the eleven after scores of 37 and 1.

India's 13-man squad: Virat Kohli (captain), M Vijay, KL Rahul, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant, Ravindra Jadeja, Ishant Sharma, Mohammed Shami, Jasprit Bumrah, Bhuvneshwar Kumar, Umesh Yadav.

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Bengaluru: The Special Investigation Team (SIT) has told a Beltangady court that the alleged Dharmasthala mass burial case was a completely fabricated conspiracy by anti-Dharmasthala activists.

The SIT named six accused in the case, Chinnayya (A1), Mahesh Shetty Timrodi, Girish Mattannanavar, Jayanth, Vitthal Gowda, and Sujatha Bhatt. In its preliminary report, the SIT said Dharmasthala authorities had no role in the allegations and issued them a clean chit, as reported by India Today on Wednesday.

The SIT reportedly said, the first accused, Chinnayya, was paid, pressured and coached to give false statements. A false narrative of “mass burials” was allegedly built to target Dharmasthala, with the accused procuring a skull, staging evidence, and recording coached statements.

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The SIT also stated that conspiracy meetings were held at the residence of Mahesh Shetty Timrodi. Video clips, bank transaction details, electronic records and witness statements have reportedly been recovered as part of the probe. The SIT concluded, in its preliminary report, that the mass burial allegations were fabricated and orchestrated as part of a planned conspiracy.

According to the report, the SIT has now sought court permission to arrest five of the accused. Arrests could take place any moment if approval is granted, and the agency is preparing for custodial interrogation to file its final report.

Reacting to the filing of the charge sheet, Deputy Chief Minister D K Shivakumar reportedly said he had already stated in the Assembly that the accusations were part of a conspiracy.

“Some of our own leaders asked me about it. I knew the allegations were not factual and that a conspiracy was underway. But ultimately, the truth has prevailed. Justice has been done,” IT quoted Shivakumar as saying.

Shivakumar said that he had not yet seen the charge sheet and only learned about it through the media. He said the law must take its own course and warned that such conspiracies would damage institutions that had existed for years. As per the report, he also commented on differences between the RSS and the BJP, saying they were “deeply connected to this conspiracy.”