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Glenn Maxwell has been denied a Test recall for a second time in as many weeks, leaving questions over whether the Australian will add to his tally of seven.
Glenn Maxwell must be beginning to wonder if his Test recall will ever come.
Narrowly denied for the second time in 10 days on Friday, the 343-year-old cut a dejected figure in Galle.
Because after such hope, the right-hander's tour of Sri Lanka has now become a series of what-ifs.
Called into Australia's Test squad after the fourth one-day international when Travis Head strained his hamstring, Maxwell was considered an option with bat and ball.
Head was then put through three days of fitness tests on arrival in Galle, before being cleared to play on the morning of the first Test.
Maxwell was given renewed hope earlier this week, when Australia started leaning towards playing just one quick and leaving out Mitchell Starc.
Spinners had taken 25 of 30 wickets in the first Test, while Starc bowled 11 overs total, Pat Cummins wasn't used in the second innings and Cameron Green not at all in the match.
Maxwell's role would be as a No.8, playing as a spinning allrounder and providing a chance for useful runs on a pitch where they have been at a premium.
Then Australia's coaches inspected the pitch on Wednesday, and it seemed marginally firmer than the one that had been used in the first Test.
It was firmer again on Thursday when Cummins had a close look at it, before an early morning pitch-side selection meeting on Friday sealed Maxwell's fate.
"I don't think it will be as exaggerated spin from day one. And Starc with the bat and ball is a key player," Cummins said at the toss.
Maxwell will enter the home summer as the next batter in the queue should any player be injured, but the odds are stacked against him getting a chance.
He won't play Sheffield Shield in the first half of the season through Australia's white-ball duties, meaning it will be a full three years without first-class cricket.
The last time he got anything close to a full season for Victoria was way back in 2017-18, striking 707 runs at an average of 50.5.
Australia tour India next February and March for a four-Test series, where conditions somewhat similar to Sri Lanka are expected.
Depending on dates, it's unlikely Maxwell will play any red-ball cricket before then.
In some ways, Friday's second Test could have been seen as the perfect chance to look at him again against the red ball before arriving in India.
But instead Australia opted to go the other way.
And if Maxwell's recall doesn't come on the spinning wickets of India, it's possible his Test tally may forever be stuck with just the seven between 2013 and 2017.
