Maxi targets allround route back to Test team

Glenn Maxwell plans on bashing down the door to Test selection with bat and ball, believing he won't warrant a call-up if he sheds the allrounder tag.

Maxwell was one of the notable omissions in Australia's 15-man squad for an upcoming Test tour of Sri Lanka.

Left-arm tweaker Steve O'Keefe was picked as the second spinner, while Moises Henriques will serve as the back-up allrounder in the touring party.

Maxwell could easily feel a little miffed, having been part of the Test squad that would have visited Bangladesh last October if not for security concerns.

Since then the Victorian has averaged 56 with the bat from nine first-class knocks he's squeezed in around various ODI and Twenty20 commitments.

But Maxwell knows the top six is set after Australia regained the No.1 Test ranking earlier this year.

Likewise that he's unlikely to play as a second tweaker, given he spins the ball the same way as Nathan Lyon.

"Competing with Nathan Lyon is always going to be tough," Maxwell told AAP.

"I've just got to improve my batting to the point where they can't resist having me as an allrounder and a back-up to him."

The second coming of Steve Smith eventuated when the former legspinning allrounder decided to focus exclusively on his batting.

Maxwell, who has played three Tests since debuting in 2013, won't go down the same path.

"I don't think I can rest on just being a batsman," the 27-year-old said.

"I know Steve Smith went that way when he lost his Test spot, not really bowling much at all.

"But I don't think I can go that direction. I have to keep working on both parts of my game and make sure they're good enough.

"I've decided not to play in England for the first time in four years. It might be a good chance to get a pre-season under my belt and spend a bit of time working on my game."

The non-selection is clearly a setback to the 27-year-old's dream of donning the Baggy Green again.

But with a Test tour of India to come in early 2017, Maxwell hopes a productive summer will put him back in the minds of selectors.

"If I can make some runs then and also hopefully in Sri Lanka for the one-day series, it still puts pressure on those guys in the squad," Maxwell said, adding that his immediate focus is next month's ODI tri-series in the West Indies.

"I was obviously a bit disappointed initially but having a look at the squad they've picked for Sri Lanka, I can understand.

"They've got all bases covered. I think it's a squad that is going to win the series.

"It's a really strong squad and I fully understand why I'm not in it."