Suranga Lakmal has been recalled to Sri Lanka's T20I squad © Getty

Suranga Lakmal has been recalled to the Sri Lanka T20I squad to take on South Africa in a three-match series. Jeffrey Vandersay, Sadeera Samarawickrama and Asitha Fernando are among the other additions while Dasun Shanaka misses out from the 16-member squad announced on Thursday (March 14).

Lakmal's inclusion comes after a lengthy absence for the bowler in limited-overs cricket. He last played a T20I in March 2018 while his last ODI appearance came in September in the same year. Legspinner Vandersay hasn't played a game for Sri Lanka since his ODI appearance against Pakistan in October 2017.

Angelo Perera, Avishka Fernando and Priyamal Perera are also part of the squad while Oshada Fernando has not been considered. Fernando, who had done well in the Test series against South Africa, will return home along with Upul Tharanga and Vishwa Fernando after the completion of the ODI series.

Sri Lanka Cricket also announced that head coach Chandika Hathrusingha will return to Colombo after the completion of the ODI series. He has been asked to come back to handle Sri Lanka's preparations for the upcoming ICC Cricket World Cup and in his absence, Steve Rixon will serve as the acting head coach during the T20I series.

Sri Lanka are currently trailing 4-0 in the ODI series with the threat of a whitewash looming large. They play the last ODI on March 16 in Cape Town, which will also host the opening T20I on March 19. The second game will be played on March 22 in Centurion while Johannesburg will host the final match on March 24.

Sri Lanka T20I squad: Lasith Malinga (c) Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Avishka Fernando, Sadeera Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, Angelo Perera, Dhananjaya De Silva, Kamindu Mendis, Priyamal Perera, Thisara Perera, Suranga Lakmal, Isuru Udana, Asitha Fernando, Akila Dananjaya, Jeffrey Vandersay, Lakshan Sandakan.