SRI LANKA duo Priyankara Wickramasinghe and Pakistani Nasir Ali have been included in Malaysia's final squad of 14 players for the ACC Elite Trophy which starts in Kuala Lumpur on Friday.

The pair had their first taste of playing in Malaysian colours in a practice match against Hong Kong last Friday which the hosts won by 31 runs.

Hong Kong, fresh from competing in the Asia Cup in Karachi, were the first team to arrive followed by Saudi Arabia on Monday.

"I have been waiting for this moment for four years," said an elated Priyankara, who was a member of the Sri Lanka 'A' team that toured England in 1999 and also played against Zimbabwe at home in 2000.

"Honestly, I am very happy to be playing for Malaysia."
Priyankara and Nasir are two of the three foreigners who are deemed 'nationals' having met the requirements set by the International Cricket Council.

The other is Indian-born Dinesh Muthuraman.

Paceman Suresh Navaratnam, adjudged the best bowler in the Franchise League, will anchor the bowling attack with Anwar Aruddin in the 10-nation tournament which offers the winner and runners-up a shot in the Asia Cup against the four Test-playing nations.

However, the big carrot for the top five teams is a chance to compete in the World Cricket League.

Malaysia open their Group A campaign against Bahrain at the Kinrara Oval on Friday, followed by Afghanistan (Sunday, Selangor Turf Club), United Arab Emirates (July 29, STC) and Saudi Arabia on July 30 at the Kinrara Oval.

The semi-finals will be played on Aug 1 and final on Aug 3 at the Kinrara Oval.

The squad: Rohan Vishnu Suppiah (capt), Rakesh Madhavan, Suhan Kumar Alagaratnam, Darvin Muralitharan, Nasir Ali, Ahmad Faiz Mohamed Noor, Eszrafiq Abdul Azis, Shukri Abdul Rahim, Dinesh Muthuraman, Priyankara Wickramasinghe, Suresh Navaratnam, M. Krishnamurthi, Anwar Arudin, Rosman Zakaria.

Reserves: Shafiq Shariff , Suharril Fetri Shuib, Matthew Lee, Arul Vivasvan Suppiah.