For Bangladesh, it would be an uphill task as Australia have retained all the top players in the squad.

The much-anticipated tour of the world champions has captured the imagination of the cricket-crazy nation. The arrival of the best cricket team in the world is already the talk of the town. It is widely expected that there will be a rush for tickets as local fans are planning in advance to watch the matches in Dhaka and Chittagong.

The likes of captain Ricky Ponting, Matthew Hayden, Adam Gilchrist and Brett Lee should have been enough for the average cricket fan to be excited about. But everyone is talking about a certain record-breaking leg-spinner.

Shane Warne is easily the biggest draw in any series as he is one of the most sought-after superstars in world cricket today.

He is said to be responsible for the renaissance of the art of leg-spin bowling and is also the record holder of the most number of Test wickets, currently standing at 670 scalps. He retired from one-day cricket back in 2003 to prolong his Test career, and he claims that his present form is better than ever.

The man who hails from Melbourne has an aura about him, which has a tremendous crowd-pulling effect all over the world, and it is going to be no different in Bangladesh. His mercurial talent with the ball in hand, powered by a bagful of variations and trickery is sure to mesmerise the crowd here.

He will be supported by fellow leg-spinner Stuart MacGill and by a five man pace attack consisting of Brett Lee, Shaun Tait, Stuart Clark and Michael Kasprowicz.

Captain Ricky Ponting has not only ensured he remains top of the ICC rankings for Test batsmen but has also given him one of the highest ratings of all-time. He also leads the ODI rankings with teammates Adam Gilchrist, Andrew Symonds, Michael Hussey and Michael Clarke also among the top ten batsmen.

Among the bowlers, Shane Warne is in second position in the ICC bowlers' rankings, with Brett Lee and Nathan Bracken present in the top bracket of bowlers in the ODI charts.

Cricket Australia (CA) have also announced the one-day side, with just a single change. South Australian off-spinner Dan Cullen replaces medium-pacer Mick Lewis who had a torrid time during Australia's 3-2 loss to South Africa in the recent one-day series. He picked up just two wickets in three games and conceded a world record 113 runs from ten overs in the final game at Johannesburg. This is Cullen's first call-up to the national side.

This will be the second series between the teams after Bangladesh's maiden tour to Australia back in July 2003. Australia won that series comfortably, winning both the Tests within three days. The world champions also won the ODI series 3-0.

The two teams are scheduled to play two Tests and three one-day internationals, starting with the first Test in Dhaka on April 9.

Test squad:Matthew Hayden, Justin Langer, Ricky Ponting (capt), Damien Martyn, Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Michael Clarke, Adam Gilchrist (wk), Brett Lee, Shane Warne, Stuart MacGill, Shaun Tait, Stuart Clark, Michael Kasprowicz

ODI squad: Adam Gilchrist (wk), Simon Katich, Ricky Ponting (capt), Damien Martyn, Michael Clarke, Michael Hussey, Andrew Symonds, Shane Watson, Brett Lee, Nathan Bracken, Brad Hogg, Stuart Clark, Daniel Cullen, Mitchell Johnson