New Delhi: In a surprising move, Rohit Sharma announced his immediate retirement from Test cricket on Wednesday, putting an end to all speculation about his future in the longest format of the game.

The 38-year-old was India's most prolific Test batter in the second half of his career, scoring 4301 runs in 67 Tests with 12 hundreds and 18 half centuries at an average of 40.57.

"...It's been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites. Thank you for all the love and support over the years. I will continue to represent India in the ODI format," he wrote in his social media handle.

Rohit captained India to the World Test Championship final against Australia and save the last couple of indifferent series against New Zealand at home and the Border-Gavaskar series against Australia.

India will have a new Test captain for the five-Test series in England with possible candidates being Jasprit Bumrah, KL Rahul, Shubman Gill and Rishabh Pant. PTI