Maldives, playing in the Malaysia International T20 Tri-Series were runners-up in a tournament competing against teams ranked much higher then ourselves.
*Maldives Men’s Squad pictured just after presentation of the Runners-Up Medals.
The Malaysia T20I Tri Series offered the men’s national teams of Malaysia, Maldives and Thailand a golden chance to improve their respective ICC Twenty20 International Global Rankings.
Organised by the Malaysian Cricket Association (MCA), the double round-robin tournament took place at the Kinrara Oval from June 22nd to 29th 2019.
This tournament was Maldives first international outing since the Asian Cricket Council Western Region T20 earlier this year.
This Tri Series tournament is the first organised by MCA since the International Cricket Council announced that it would grant T20I status to all of its 105 members from January 1, 2019. As of the latest ICC T20I rankings on June 16, Maldives is ranked 74th while Thailand and Malaysia are 57th and 36th respectively.
All three teams will be playing in the first T20I tournament and the result of all six matches will have an impact on their ranking, which is expected to be updated by July 15 2019.
Maldives was captained by Mohamed Mahfooz, a veteran left-arm bowler and who has represented his country with distinction since 2005.
Thailand’s multi-national squad included three players from Bangladesh, two each from Pakistan and South Africa as well as Australian Nicholas Janes. The Thais, led by Vichanath Singh, brought virtually the same squad which played in Malaysia last October.
*Malaysia – Champions
Maldives and Malaysia have met eight times in official competitions since 1996 with Malaysia winning each time including by 56 runs in their last meeting at the 2015 ACC Twenty20 Cup in the United Arab Emirates.
*Maldives All-Rounder Nilantha Cooray with his Player of the Series Award
