STEVE O’Keefe looks to have played his last Test for Australia after being snubbed from Australia’s planned tour of Bangladesh in August.

The 32-year-old tweaker was overlooked in favour of the younger left-arm option Ashton Agar in a 13-man Australian squad announced on Friday.

Hilton Cartwright, meanwhile, has clambered up Australia’s allrounder pecking order to earn selection, while fit-again quick James Pattinson was also recalled.

Pace spearhead Mitchell Starc will miss the tour due a troublesome foot injury and selectors will add another paceman to the Bangladesh squad following next month’s Australia A series in South Africa.

Steve O'Keefe celebrates a wicket against Pakistan at the SCG in January. Source: Getty Images

Nathan Lyon remains Australia’s first-choice spinner, having headed off a challenge during the recent series loss in India where O’Keefe enjoyed a career-defining, 12-wicket, matchwinning haul in the opening Test in Pune.

O’Keefe would finish as Australia’s joint-leading wicket-taker with 19 in India, but his stocks would dip significantly soon after returning to home soil when he became embroiled in controversy at the NSW Cricket Awards night.

O’Keefe was fined $20,000 and was banned from this year’s Matador Cup after being found to have drunkenly made “highly inappropriate comments”, directed at a female cricketer, at the after-party of the awards night in April.

Shortly after, O’Keefe was left off Australia’s centrally contracted players and the writing appeared to be on the wall.

Friday’s snub is another nail in the left-arm-orthodox spinner’s career, though Cricket Australia claimed his omission was based on performance.

“Whilst Steve O’Keefe bowled well in Pune, he did not maintain this level in the remaining matches of the series and we believe the timing is right for Ashton to enter the set-up and test his all-rounder ability,” selector Trevor Hohns said in a statement.

“... Ashton has continued to impress us with his form and we believe his bowling is at a level where he deserves to be playing on the highest stage. He will work nicely in tandem with Nathan Lyon and also brings a great all-round package to the team.”

“Hilton averages nearly 60 runs in first class cricket and was the second highest run scorer in the Sheffield Shield last season with 861 runs.

Hilton Cartwright made his Test debut in Sydney New Years’ Test against Pakistan. Source: Getty Images

“He is a quality player who we believe has a big future for Australia and we are very keen to see him carry on his good form in the subcontinent.”

The squad announcement was curiously timed, as the proposed two-Test tour of Bangladesh was yet to be formally announced amid a tense stand-off over security concerns.

However CA said on Friday the Australian side would arrive in Bangladesh on August 18 and play a tour match (August 22) before two Tests in Dhaka (August 27) and Chittagong (September 4) respectively.

It is generally accepted that should a tour go ahead, but CA general manager Pat Howard indicated further assurances would be required.

“The Bangladesh Cricket Board and the Bangladesh Government have provided satisfactory levels of assurance and security for this tour to proceed at this stage, and we’re very grateful to them for this.

“We will continue to work with them to finalise plans but also monitor advice from Government agencies and our own security advisors about the security risk. Our number one priority will always be the safety and security of our players and support staff when travelling to any country,” said Howard.

“Players selected for this tour will continue to receive regular security status updates prior to travelling.”

James Pattinson is back. Source: News Corp Australia

Perhaps even more problematic will be the ongoing pay dispute saga between Cricket Australia and its players, with both sides yet to come to an agreement on a new Memorandum of Understanding.

The current agreement ends in a fortnight — on June 30 — after which all previously contracted players will be considered unemployed, and unavailable for selection unless there is the possibility of a temporary MoU to be signed for specific tours.

Howard said the squad was picked “irrespective and independent of the status of the MoU”

“We are working towards a resolution being in place by June 30 and look forward to continuing to support these players to perform at their very best on the global stage,” he said.

Test tour of Bangladesh: Steve Smith (capt), David Warner, Matt Renshaw, Usman Khawaja, Peter Handscomb, Glenn Maxwell, Hilton Cartwright, Matthew Wade, Pat Cummins, James Pattinson, Josh Hazlewood, Nathan Lyon, Ashton Agar.