The Sri Lankan selectors on Thursday (July 23) named five uncapped players in their 15-man squad for the two-match Twenty20 International series against Pakistan.
Jeffrey Vandersay, the legspinner, Binura Fernando, the fast bowler, and Dasun Shanaka, the allrounder, were called-up, along with the batsmen Shehan Jayasuriya and Dhananjaya de Silva.
Also in the mix is Chamara Kapugedera, the top-order batsman who last played a T20I in 2012 against Pakistan and Nuwan Kulasekara, who was left out of the ongoing One-Day International series.
Dinesh Chandimal and Lahiru Thirimanne, both of whom have flourished in the ODIs, were left out.
Sri Lanka have struggled against Pakistan so far. They lost the three-match Test series 1-2 and conceded the ODI series on Wednesday when they lost the fourth match by seven wickets.
Sri Lanka last played a T20I against England in May 2014, when they won by nine runs in the one-off match at the Kennington Oval in London. However, with the World Twenty20 2016 in India fast approaching, where Sri Lanka will seek to defend the title they won in 2014, the selectors have gone for a blend of youth and experience.
Both T20Is will be held at the R Premadasa stadium on July 30 and August 1.
Squad: Lasith Malinga (capt), TM Dilshan, Kusal Perera, Kithruwan Vithanage, Dhananjaya de Silva, Angelo Mathews, Dasun Shanaka, Chamara Kapugedera, Shehan Jayasuriya, Thisara Perera, Jeffrey Vandersay, Nuwan Kulasekara, Binura Fernando, Chaturanga de Silva, Milinda Siriwardene.
