Born in Johor in 1974,[2] Selvaratnam first represented his country at Under-19 level, playing in the Youth Asia Cup in Bangladesh in 1989 when only 15.[4] He made his debut for the senior side three years later, playing in the VOLVO cup quadrangular in Thailand also involving Singapore, Hong Kong, and the host nation.[citation needed] His first major tournament was the 1994 ICC Trophy tournament in Nairobi.[5]
He played in the annual Stan Nagaiah Trophy series against Singapore for the first time in February 1995. He played in the series every year from then on until 2001. He returned to the Saudara Cup match in 1997, playing in that match every year until 2004, except for 2002.[4] He played in the 1997 ICC Trophy, which was held in Malaysia.[5] For many years in between, he served as vice-captain of the Malaysian team and in 1998 captained Malaysia for the first time in the Saudara Cup.[citation needed]
In 2005, he played ACC Fast Track Countries Tournament matches against Singapore, Hong Kong, and Nepal, also returning to the Stan Nagaiah Trophy series for the first time in four years. He played in the series again the following year, also playing ACC Premier League matches against Hong Kong, Nepal, and the UAE, and in that year's ACC Trophy. He most recently represented his country in the 2007 ACC Twenty20 Cup, where he played against Nepal and Oman.[4]