Kinrara, Malaysia | 19 Aug 2015 | Asia Samachar |
Virandeep Singh, the 16-year old who made history earlier this year when fielded as youngest player in the Malaysian national senior team, will skipper Malaysia’s U19 team for the Asian Cricket Council (ACC) tournament and beyond.
Virandeep’s appointment was made by Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA) secretary Mohammad Iqbal Ali in a ceremony today at its headquarters in Kinrara, Puchong.
“We have a strong team and will be up against some strong competition from the more established cricket playing countries but we have a real chance to do well in this tournament,” Virandeep said in a statement released by the Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA).
The ACC Tournament will start on the 28th of August and will be played till the 3rd of September. The participating countries include Nepal, Afghanistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, UAE and hosts Malaysia. The top 3 teams will secure a place in the Asia Cup.
“This is an important tournament and it will affect our ranking, so we must perform as we are playing for the country,” he added.
Virandeep began playing cricket at the age of seven at Sekolah Kebangsaan Bukit Bandaraya in Kuala Lumpur under his first coach Mr Munusamy, he said in an earlier interview.
The Victoria Institution student burst on the scene as a 13 year old in the 2012 ACC U16 Elite Cup where he opened the batting and scored 54* off 119 balls in the final as Malaysia won by 1 wicket to secure its first ever multi-nation event win.
Malaysia’s Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports Saravanan Murugan visited the national centralised training camp to meet the players and to see how the preparations for the critical tournament were progressing also presented the incoming captain with his cap, the statement added.
“We are in the first phase of the roadmap, raising the awareness of the sport in the country which will be the first step as most don’t know that cricket is the second most popular sport in the world and more importantly, Malaysia is currently ranked 23rd by the International Cricket Council,” he said.
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Well done Virandeep & we are proud of you.
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