Drogba missed a recent friendly international through injury, but has since returned to action with Chelsea.
Emmanuel Eboue, Kolo Toure, Yaya Toure and Salomon Kalou are all in the party preparing for the Group H game against Rwanda in Abidjan.
Monaco's Yannick Sagbo takes Drogba's place in the squad after winning his first cap in the friendly match against Italy, which was played in London.
Sagbo is one of only three squad members who did not go to the World Cup, as Zahoui stuck with most of the players who had served his predecessor Sven-Goran Eriksson.
But the midfield pair of Kafoumba Coulibaly and Emerse Fae, from French club Nice, have both returned to the line-up after being overlooked for the finals in South Africa.
Ivory Coast squad:
Goalkeepers: Boubacar Barry (Lokeren, Belgium), Daniel Yeboah (ASEC Abidjan)
Defenders: Souleymane Bamba (Hibernian, Scotland), Arthur Boka (VfB Stuttgart, Germany), Guy Demel (Hamburg SV, Germany), Emmanuel Eboue (Arsenal, England), Steve Gohouri (Wigan Athletic, England), Siaka Tiene (Valenciennes, France), Kolo Toure (Manchester City, England), Didier Zokora (Sevilla, Spain)
Midfielders: Kafoumba Coulibaly, Emerse Fae (both Nice, France), Emmanuel Kone (Cluj, Romania), Christian Koffi Ndri (Sevilla, Spain), Cheik Ismael Tiote (Newcastle United, England), Yaya Toure (Manchester City, England)
Strikers: Seydou Doumbia (CSKA Moscow, Russia), Salomon Kalou (Chelsea, England), Gervais Yao Kouassi (Lille, France), Yannick Sagbo (Monaco, France).
Source: BBC Sport
Source: BBC Sport