Leg-spinner Jeffrey Vandersay will replace the injured Lasith Malinga in Sri Lanka's cricket squad for the ongoing ICC World Twenty20 in India.

Mohan de Silva, the Sri Lanka Cricket vice-President, said the 26-year-old Vandersay will depart at the earliest to join the team.

Malinga has been forced out due to a nagging knee injury.

Vandersay was in the original World T20 squad but was overlooked by the current selection panel headed by Aravinda de Silva.

The original squad was picked by the previous panel headed by Kapila Wijegoonawardena.

Vandersay has played in just four T20 internationals previously, the last of which was in New Zealand in January.

Image: Sri Lanka's Jeffrey Vandersay (left) celebrates with Dinesh Chandimal after a dismissal 

Photograph: Hannah Peters/Getty Images