Jayawardene was a shadow of his normal self in South Africa

The pair have paid the price for undistinguished performances during the World Cup - Jayawardene scoring only 21 runs in seven innings and Arnold 92 in eight.

Seam bowler Pulasthi Gunaratne has also been left out, and veteran Aravinda de Silva has joined the selection panel after retiring from international cricket.

The four players drafted in are batsman Michael Vandort, wicket-keeper Prasanna Jayawardene and spin bowling all-rounders Kumar Dharmasena and Kaushal Lokuarachchi.

Only Dharmasena has previously played one-day international cricket, but Vandort demonstrated his potential by making 140 against Bangladesh in one of his two Test appearances so far.

SRI LANKA IN SHARJAH 4 April v Pakistan 6 April v Kenya 7 April v Zimbabwe 10 April Final Mahela Jayawardene Q&A

Star spinner Muttiah Muralitharan, who has been struggling with a niggling injury, and Kumar Sangakkara have been restored to the squad after Sports Minister Johnston Fernando refused to ratify the original list of 15 names.

They have taken the places originally filled by Thilan Samaraweera and Hasantha Fernando.

Sri Lanka will play their opening Sharjah Cup match against Pakistan next Friday.

The side will again be captained by Sanath Jayasuriya, who was persuaded to carry on by cricket officials after initially tendering his resignation following the World Cup.

Zimbabwe and Kenya are the other teams involved after accepting invitations from the organisers following South Africa's withdrawal from what was initially scheduled as a triangular competition.