Australia seek to rekindle Pune spark

Australia don't lose to Bangladesh. It just doesn't happen.

But then, Australia don't lose to Sri Lanka either, do they? When Steven Smith's men arrived in Colombo last year, Australia had only ever lost one of the 26 Tests they had played against Sri Lanka. And the result of that 2016 tour? Sri Lanka, 3-0.

And Australia don't lose to Pakistan, right? In 2014, Michael Clarke's side arrived in the UAE with Australia having not lost a series to Pakistan for 20 years. The result? Pakistan, 2-0, in two of the heaviest defeats inflicted on Australia in recent years.

But these are old results, yes? What about this year, when Australia enjoyed a major breakthrough in India? True, they lost the series, but their victory in the first Test in Pune was one for the ages. Who can forget the way India were bundled out for 105 and 107? All Australia have to do is channel that performance over the next couple of weeks in Mirpur and Chittagong.

There's just one problem. Remember Steve O'Keefe? The bloke who took 12 wickets in that Pune Test and was Man of the Match for setting up one of Australia's most unexpected wins in decades? He's not part of the tour party in Bangladesh.

The official line from national selector Trevor Hohns was that "whilst O'Keefe bowled well in Pune, he did not maintain this level in the remaining matches of the series". Well, you can't argue with the facts. O'Keefe did indeed fail to take 12 wickets in any of the remaining three Tests.

The real reason for O'Keefe's exclusion, though, can only be his off-field behaviour. In April, O'Keefe was fined AUD 20,000 (USD 15,800 approx) and suspended from this summer's domestic one-day tournament after making what CA described as "highly inappropriate comments whilst under the influence of alcohol" at the after-party following the Steve Waugh Medal night in Sydney.

It was reported that his offensive comments were directed at a female cricketer, and that he was fortunate not to have his contract terminated as a result of the incident. O'Keefe conceded that there was no excuse for his behaviour - which was his second alcohol-related off-field indiscretion in less than a year - and he offered an unconditional apology.

With that in mind, you can understand why the selectors, administrators and even players may have felt uncomfortable with O'Keefe being included in a Test squad so soon afterwards. Ashton Agar was chosen instead, and is set to play Test cricket for the first time in four years. But the fact remains that if Australia were picking their best squad for this trip, O'Keefe would be in it.

And there is another key absentee: Mitchell Starc, who is recovering from surgery on his foot. It cannot be forgotten that Starc was Australia's dominant player last year in Sri Lanka, where he defied the conditions to pile up 24 wickets at 15.16 in three Tests. His absence leaves Australia relying heavily on Pat Cummins and Josh Hazlewood for their pace needs.

Of course, there is more to Australia's Asian hopes than these two missing men. Smith's second-innings hundred in Pune was a picture of patience and technique, and he will bring those traits to this series as well. Peter Handscomb's unbeaten 72 to salvage a draw in Ranchi was, Smith said, worth 150. Glenn Maxwell scored his maiden Test ton in Ranchi as well, and by the end of the series Lyon had an eight-for and a five-for to his name, and Hazlewood a six-for.

So, there remain plenty of encouraging signs out of that Indian series. But there are also some significant concerns. David Warner averages 30 in Test matches in Asia, while Usman Khawaja's first-class record on the continent - 278 runs at 30.88 - is no more auspicious. And Agar, for all his supposed bowling improvements since the 2013 Ashes, remains an unknown quantity. Certainly he hasn't amassed domestic wickets with the same consistency as O'Keefe.

There is also the small matter of Australia having not a single practice match in Bangladesh to acclimatise; their only scheduled game was cancelled due to a waterlogged ground.

And all of this is without even mentioning Bangladesh, whose most recent Test at home was a victory against England, and whose most recent Test away was a win in Sri Lanka. This is a team with self-belief, the world's best Test allrounder (Shakib Al Hasan), and almost as much experience as Australia (the likely Australian XI average 25 Tests of experience per player compared to Bangladesh's 22).

Bangladesh should fancy their chances against an Australian squad still finding their way in Asian conditions. That said, Smith's men should be better placed than the Australians were in the UAE in 2014 or in Sri Lanka in 2016, given the improvements they showed in India earlier this year.

And, of course, Australia don't lose to Bangladesh.