National team to tour India for world buildup
THE national team will tour Sri Lanka and India in preparation for the World Cricket League Division Four competition to be held in Kuala Lumpur on April 28-May 6.
The Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA) are targeting promotion when Malaysia face Uganda, Denmark, Bermuda, Jersey and Vanuatu in Division Four.
But first a squad of 18 players will be a selected from a pool of 35 to tour Sri Lanka for two weeks in the second half of February before heading to India in midMarch for a month.
MCA general manager for cricket operations Dinesh Muthuraman said no expense is being spared to ensure the national team returns to Division Three following last year’s relegation.
“We are finalising the schedule for the national team as besides going to Sri Lanka and India, there are also a number of club teams that want to come here to play against us,” said Dinesh, a former national team player.
“The national team will have plenty of matches to play in preparation for the WCL tournament and we are trying to accommodate all the requests.”
Qatar and Singapore are among the national teams to play against Malaysia here, the latter in the Stan Nagaiah limited overs series in March.
The Sri Lankan Army and Hong Kong are also interested in coming to Kuala Lumpur in April.
The WCL tournament, part of the qualification process for the 2023 Cricket World Cup, is the national team’s main assignment for 2018.
Meanwhile, the annual Saudara Cup innings match against Singapore is likely to held in August.
The national team enjoyed mixed fortunes in 2017 when Malaysia followed up the relegation from WCL Division Three by winning the 50-overs gold medal and a silver in the Twenty20 competition at the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games. Devinder Singh