Flip through the latest issue of Gulf Weekly.
Sri Lanka have much at stake when they take on Bangladesh in a two-Test series starting on Friday.
Their recent one-day tour to Zimbabwe was a disaster despite winning the series. Sri Lanka's victory was more to do with Zimbabwe's inability to deliver at the top level. At times, Zimbabwe ran them close but could not finish the job.
All the good work done in the series against India evaporated. Though Test and one-day cricket are different cups of tea, the question of confidence always arises.
Bangladesh do not pose a major challenge as such. But they are always capable of throwing up surprises.
Sri Lanka's problem will be the batting and has more to do with form than ability. The return of Malinda Warnapura and Michael Vandort at least will solve the team's opening problems.
The promising Upul Tharanga's batting has regressed by the day. Once thought to be the ideal replacement for Sanath Jayasuriya, Tharanga now finds himself at the crossroads.
Both Warnapura and Vandort have performed solidly at the top and Tharanga will find it difficult to replace them. He gets a chance though in the tri-series of one-day matches which follow and this may well be his last.
The two stalwarts, Kumara Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene have lost a bit of form. Jayawardene, in particular, scored just 19 runs in four innings against Zimbabwe.
But there is no doubting the class of the duo and they will come good sooner rather than later.
Thilan Samaraweera and Tillakaratne Dilshan provide contrasting approaches in the middle-order. The sedate Samaraweera is now willing to open out a bit more and this has helped him to be more consistent.
Dilshan is back in the fold and must now consolidate his position because there are some promising youngsters willing to fill his role.
Bangladesh won't have it easy because Muthiah Muralitharan will be devastating on their home soil.
Though Bangladesh showed some glimpses of improvement against New Zealand, they now need to reassess and perform.
The other players must take the example of Shakib Al Hasan. The left-handed all-rounder has shown determination and willingness to learn. His batting and bowling are getting better by the day and he will soon be the star performer for the team.
The young Bangladeshi batsmen still continue to commit hara-kiri when in control of the situation. The most talented of them all, Mohammed Ashraful, has been the biggest culprit.
Ashraful has all the shots in the book to make him a truly great player. But his concentration is poor and he does not make attempts to rectify it. Whenever he does, he slows down and still gets out to a stupid shot.
Sri Lanka next tour Pakistan as a last-minute replacement after India called off their trip to their neighbour following the terror attack in Mumbai. The Sri Lankans will obviously be looking to end an up and down season on a high note.
