Coach Faiz wants to continue playing

FORMER national team captain Ahmad Faiz Mohammad Noor is not ready to hang up his bat despite being appointed Bukit Jalil Sports School’s (BJSS) cricket head coach.

Faiz, who captained the national team from 2013 to 2017, said he intends to combine playing cricket with his coaching duties at BJSS, where he started his new role on Jan 2.

One of the best cricket players produced by the country, Faiz will still be attending national team selection on Jan 20-26 at the Kinrara Oval.

“I’m not ready to retire from playing yet and I still want to represent the country,” said top-order right-hand batsman Faiz, 29.

“I started coaching a while ago and I hope to be able to coach for a long time.

“I joined the Education Ministry on a permanent basis and was appointed as BJSS coach on Jan 2. I hope to impart my knowledge to the next generation and mould them into respectable players.”

Faiz, who is coaching a team of 20 players at BJSS from the age of 13 to 18, last turned out for Malaysia at last year’s Kuala Lumpur Sea Games when he scored a century against Singapore as the national team won gold in the 50-overs competition.

His experience will be invaluable as Malaysia bid for promotion in the World League Division Four on Apr 28-May 6.

“Faiz is one of the best players produced by Malaysia and he will be a very good role model for BJSS players, and it will be a good opportunity for them to learn from him,” said Dinesh Muthuraman, Malaysian Cricket Association general manager for cricket operations.

“He is one of the most committed players in the national team and he will be attending the national selection along with the rest of the players.”

MCA selectors will be looking to trim a pool of 45 players to 18 as the national team prepares for tours of India and Sri Lanka as well as hosting several visiting teams before the WCL Division Four tournament. Devinder Singh