[Himannv]

May as well rename the thread to "Doom and Gloom".

Yeah, things don't look promising at all on the test cricket front, but we've never been particularly good in tests anyway. Usually we rely on one or two key players to perform with some measure of consistency while we hope for the best with the others. With some of these key players retiring soon, a period of transition is obviously on the horizon.

I like how we're giving one or two younger players a chance in the current test and I'm sure some of these batsmen will be eased into the team soon enough and the process will be gradual. I'm also not concerned about Herath retiring as we have a few young spinners who could step up and perform reasonably well.

The real problem is the pace bowling department and this has been the case for quite a while now. Kula isn't bad, but besides him, I don't see who else could really be good enough for test cricket. We badly need a top quality pace bowler or two to be a decent test side both in the present and the near future.

The lack of proper infrastructure is obviously a concern as mentioned in the OP, but this has been the case for years. Outside of school cricket, people just don't care about the game here. Club cricket just doesn't have the resources, quality and support needed to consistently produce test standard players.

I think we could still be decent in home conditions but away from home will be tough due to the pace friendly pitches we are likely to encounter. I'm sure we'll be fine in T20s and ODIs, so that's something.