Steve O’Keefe’s Test re-call could deny Usman Khawaja precious pre-Ashes crease time

AUSTRALIA could backflip on their plan to give Usman Khawaja pre-Ashes crease time after Steve O’Keefe’s shock recall could force the left-hander out of the second Test.

O'Keefe has been re-called into the Test team.

AUSTRALIA could be set to backflip on their plan to give Usman Khawaja pre-Ashes crease time after Steve O’Keefe’s shock recall pointed towards a rare three-pronged spin attack for the second Test in Bangladesh.

O’Keefe’s dramatic return to the fold has come so far out of left-field it’s hard to imagine he’s flying to Bangladesh for a holiday, and — although the wicket would first need to be properly inspected — it seems likely the ultra-consistent left-armer will line up alongside Nathan Lyon and Ashton Agar in Chittagong.

Josh Hazlewood’s injury has opened the door for Australia to play three spinners in a Test for the first time in a decade, but if that bold plan is to come to fruition, Khawaja’s position would first have to come under the microscope.

Khawaja was given an almighty send off by Shakib Al Hasan.

To compensate for going into a Test with Pat Cummins as the only fast bowler, selectors may look for all-rounder Hilton Cartwright to also come into the line-up as a back-up seam option.

Khawaja’s situation shapes as a vexing decision for selectors who must weigh up the potential impact on his mindset leading into an Ashes series.

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The left-hander was upset he wasn’t given more than two Tests in Sri Lanka last year, and given he’s spent the last six months on the sidelines mixing drinks, only giving him one match in Bangladesh would be a tough call for someone that Steve Smith has declared will be a “key” player for the Ashes.

However, he has left himself highly vulnerable with two unconvincing dismissals in Dhaka — one a calamitous run-out and one a mistimed sweep when Australia were desperately trying to build their run-chase.

O'Keefe has been re-called into the Test team.

One Test is rarely enough time to judge a player, but selectors could justify the move on team balance grounds.

Under a three-pronged spin attack — the first since Shane Warne, Stuart MacGill and Dan Cullen combined in Bangladesh in 2006 — the smart money would be on Smith moving back to No.3 and Cartwright getting his second Test as a No.6.

It’s a plan that would put some extra pressure on Cummins but in Dhaka, Hazlewood went wicketless anyway before he broke down, and O’Keefe would effectively allow Smith to control the pace of the game and the workload of his bowlers.

Option B of course is to sub the ever-patient Jackson Bird straight in for Hazlewood.

“With Jackson Bird in the squad we are comfortable with our fast-bowling options for the second Test and have elected to add an additional spinner given the conditions we are likely to face in Chittagong,” said selector Trevor Hohns.

O’Keefe’s inclusion is a major selection bombshell and one that asks plenty of questions about why selectors left him out of the squad in the first place.

After taking 19 wickets at 23 in the tour of India earlier this year, O’Keefe thought his Test career was over after he was snubbed for younger left-arm spinner Agar.

The rhetoric used by selector Hohns and captain Steve Smith also suggested the end had come, as they emphasised a belief that O’Keefe’s performances fell away in India and that it was time to look to the future.

O'Keefe was involved in a controversial incident following a Cricket NSW awards ceremony.

However, now it seems there’s been a change of thinking behind the scenes and 32-year-old O’Keefe has at least one last shot.

It’s been an agonising few months for O’Keefe after he was embroiled in a controversial incident following a Cricket NSW awards ceremony and was banned for the upcoming domestic one-day competition.

However, selectors always insisted their decision to cut him was purely due to performance and not behaviour.

The decision to recall O’Keefe makes sense when you consider his brilliant performances in India, but it seems somewhat unusual now, especially given rookie leg-spinner Mitchell Swepson is on this tour and trying to earn his opportunity.