Legspinner Jeffrey Vandersay has also been included in the squad, which is without the injured Ramesh Mendis
Thirimanne, meanwhile, had opted out of Sri Lanka’s last Test series, against West Indies in November, to attend the birth of his second child. Prior to that, he had been in a rich vein of form, having registered four fifties and two centuries in his last 11 innings.
The Test series will be Sri Lanka’s first in India since 2017, when they lost a three-match series 1-0. The last time Sri Lanka beat India in a Test match was in 2015, while you have to go back to 2008 for the last time they won a entire series. Sri Lanka are yet to register a Test win India.
The first Test will take place from March 4 to 8 in Mohali, and the second from March 12 to 16 in Bengaluru.
Sri Lanka squad: Dimuth Karunaratne (capt), Pathum Nissanka, Lahiru Thirimanne, Dhananjaya de Silva (vice-capt), Kusal Mendis, Angelo Mathews, Dinesh Chandimal, Charith Asalanka, Niroshan Dickwella (wk), Chamika Karunaratne, Lahiru Kumara, Suranga Lakmal, Dushmantha Chameera, Vishwa Fernando, Jeffrey Vandersay, Praveen Jayawickrama, Lasith Embuldeniya