The 33-year-old comes in place of Washington Sundar, who was unavailable for selection for the first Test after sustaining a hamstring injury during the one-day series against England this month.
Pace spearhead Jasprit Bumrah has returned to the squad, although his availability, along with batter Sai Sudharsan's, remains subject to fitness clearance.
All-rounder Ravindra Jadeja has recovered from a tennis elbow injury and returns to the side, while Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna and uncapped seamer Gurnoor Brar bolster the pace attack.
Shubman Gill will captain the side with KL Rahul as his deputy in the series which marks India's first assignment in the World Test Championship cycle following their 2-0 home defeat to South Africa in November.
India sit fifth in the WTC standings, one place above sixth-placed Sri Lanka.
The first Test will be played in Galle from August 15, with the second beginning in Colombo on August 23.
India squad: Shubman Gill (c), KL Rahul (vc), Yashasvi Jaiswal, Rishabh Pant (wk), Sai Sudharsan, Dhruv Jurel (wk), Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Manav Suthar, Jasprit Bumrah, Mohammed Siraj, Prasidh Krishna, Gurnoor Brar, Devdutt Padikkal, Saransh Jain