Mahidul Islam Ankon looks set to finish Bangladesh's T20I series against Ireland without playing a single ball.

Despite being included in the squad with the World Cup in mind, he was overlooked in the first two matches, and with the series now locked at 1-1 ahead of Tuesday's pressure decider, signs again point to the management turning to Shamim Hossain Patwary, a player with a similar profile.

At Monday's press conference, pace bowling coach Shaun Tait offered little clarity on why Ankon had not been tested. Asked about the thinking behind the playing eleven, he simply said: "I'm not a selector. You have to ask the selectors that question."

When pushed again, he repeated: "You will have to ask the selectors, man."

The mixed messages around selection have hung over the series. Just a day before the Ireland games began, captain Litton Das openly expressed frustration regarding Shamim's earlier exclusion -- remarks that prompted a counter-response from chief selector Gazi Ashraf Hossain Lipu. Lipu insisted they had brought Ankon in to assess him across the series. That intention, however, now appears unlikely to materialise.

Monday's training session at the Bir Shrestha Shaheed Matiur Rahman Stadium in Chattogram told its own story. Ankon was not at the centre of the coaching group's plans, while Shamim received extended attention in the nets. From the peripheral roles of both Ankon and Nurul Hasan Sohan, it seemed neither was under serious consideration for the final match.

By leaving Ankon unused, the purpose of his inclusion has naturally come under scrutiny. The selectors themselves have avoided commenting, leaving the team management to front questions they are unwilling or unable to answer.

Bangladesh, after losing the first match, levelled the series in the second. Tuesday's meeting with Ireland is, in effect, the decider, though Tait downplayed the sense of heightened stakes.

"I think we don't need to complicate our thoughts too much. We just need to play good cricket and win the game," he said.

"Every time you win an international match, you gain some confidence out of that. The best thing we can do is build on that confidence and take it into tomorrow's game."

With the squad unchanged and roles seemingly fixed, Ankon's wait for an opportunity looks set to continue, and the question of why he was picked at all remains unanswered.