PETALING JAYA: Two footballers – V. Ruventhiran and Shahrul Nizam Ros Hasni – have been called up to the Harimau Malaya centralised camp ahead of the final round of the 2023 Asian Cup qualifiers from June 8-14.
The 21-year-old Ruventhiran is a winger with Petaling Jaya City while centreback Shahrul, 24, plays for Terengganu.
Head coach Kim Pan-gon said Ruventhiran was called up to replace Negri Sembilan’s Khair Jones, who was excluded after he picked up an ankle injury during the Super League match against Kedah on May 17.
“Based on the reserve list, Terengganu’s Arif Fadzillah Abu Bakar was supposed to replace Khair but he is also down with an injury, so I have chosen Ruventhiran,” said Pan-gon in a statement released by the Football Association of Malaysia.
“The inclusion of Shahrul is to complete our 29-member team and to test his ability in defence,” added the South Korean.
Malaysia are drawn in Group E with Bahrain, Turkmenistan and Bangladesh.
Hosts Malaysia, ranked 154th in the world, will open their campaign against world No. 134 Turkmenistan on June 8. Their other matches are against Bahrain (June 11) and Bangladesh (June 14).
