Bracken, Cullen added to Aussie squad in Bangladesh

Sydney, Apr 11 (UNI) Uncapped off-spinner Daniel Cullen and left-arm paceman Nathan Bracken have been added to the Australian squad for the ongoing Test tour of Bangladesh.

''Our advice from the team management in Bangladesh tells us there are one or two contingencies around player fitness that we may need to consider ahead of the second Test,'' National Selection Panel chairman Andrew Hilditch said in a statement here.

''Due to the limited timeframe between the two Tests, there is simply not enough time to wait until the end of the first Test before making a decision. In this light, we have made the decision to send Nathan and Dan over earlier than expected to give them time to prepare should they be required,'' he added.

The announcement comes after leg-spinner Shane Warne picked up an elbow injury.

The Aussie pace attack has also struggled to cope with the tight schedule and was hit all over the park by Bangladesh on the first two days of the ongoing opening Test.

''Specifically, Shane Warne has some soreness of the shoulder which is being monitored, as is the fitness levels of the fast bowling group who have had a heavy workload in recent weeks,'' the Mr Hilditch pointed out.

''The selection panel is always mindful of managing the workloads of our players, particularly the fast bowlers, so we have made the decision to send Nathan and Dan over early to give them a fair and reasonable time to prepare for the second Test should they be required,'' he elaborated.

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