KUALA LUMPUR: The national cricket players will have to produce a good performance against Singapore in the annual Stan Nagaiah Trophy limited-overs series to secure a place in the squad for the World Cricket League Division Four challenge next month.
Malaysia face Singapore in the first of three 50-overs matches at the Selangor Turf Club on Friday before the series moves to the Kinrara Oval for the second and third games at the weekend.
Team captain Anwar Arudin said no player is guaranteed of a place in the WCL squad on Apr 28-May 5 when Malaysia hosts Bermuda, Denmark, Jersey, Uganda and Vanuatu
"This series is very important to us because it forms part of the selection for the WCL tournament," said Anwar, who recently returned from a seven-match tour of Sri Lanka with the national team.
"Everyone needs to perform against Singapore if they want to be selected. Nobody is sure of a place but everyone has a chance of making it."
Pride will be at stake after Malaysia won 50-overs gold at the Kuala Lumpur Sea Games last year but lost the Twenty20 final to Singapore.
Malaysia are the holders of the Stan Nagaiah Trophy after the winning the series 3-0 at Kinrara in 2016. The series, first played in 1995, was not held last year.
Anwar said several players who did not make the trip to Sri Lanka, where Malaysia won five of seven matches against club sides, have been included in the team to face Singapore, captained by Chetan Suryawanshi.
"This is to make sure everyone gets a fair chance to impress the selectors," he said.
SQUAD - Anwar Arudin (capt), Virandeep Singh, Ainool Haqiem Yatim, Fitri Sham, Syahadat Ramli, Fikri Makram Rosdi, Anwar Ab Rahman, Wafiq Irfan Zarbani, Syed Aziz Syed Mubarak, M. Sharvin, Pavandeep Singh, Che Wan Razlan Zalati, Suharril Fitri Shuib, Shafiq Sharif, Shukri Rahim, Ahmad Faiz Mohammed Noor.