Clarke retired at the end of the 2015 Ashes series in England after playing 115 tests and has since confined his involvement in the game to the commentary booth and a couple of club matches.
The 35-year-old said he was "thrilled" to mentor a side captained by Adam Voges and including Australia ODI stalwart George Bailey and returning test pace bowler James Pattinson.
"The squad has a really good mix of experienced players and some exciting young talent," Clarke said.
"I think we'll be really competitive against Sri Lanka, and I know we can play an exciting brand of cricket in front of what will hopefully be a big crowd in Canberra."
Cricket Australia have drafted in Clarke's predecessor as captain, Ricky Ponting, former test batsman Justin Langer and former pace bowler Jason Gillespie to lead the home side in the three-match Twenty20 series against Sri Lanka.
The final match of the series will conclude in Adelaide on Feb. 22, only a dozen or so hours before Australia begin their four-test series against India in Pune.
(Reporting by Nick Mulvenney; Editing by John O'Brien)
