Less than a month after saying he would try his best to win the Test series in England, Rohit Sharma has announced his retirement from Test cricket, taking the whole cricketing community by surprise.

Rohit's retirement decision is a surprise because he was placed in the less than a month ago, which gave the impression that he had no intentions of retiring from red-ball cricket.

While announcing his decision on social media, the 37-year-old batter reiterated that he would continue representing Team India in ODIs.

Rohit Sharma's Test Retirement Shocks Everyone

© X/BCCI

"Hello everyone, I would just like to share that I am retiring from Test cricket. It's been an absolute honour to represent my country in whites," Rohit wrote on his Instagram stories.

"Thank you for all the love and support over the years. I will continue to represent India in the ODI format," he added.

The existed for quite some time. It intensified after he dropped himself from the last match of the Border-Gavaskar Trophy in Australia.

© X/BCCI

During an interview with Star Sports, Rohit clarified that he wasn't going anywhere. He thinking about the team dynamics for that all-important game, as runs weren't flowing from his bat.

According to Cricbuzz, Rohit's retirement decision surprised even the BCCI top brass, including the selectors, who were made aware of it on Wednesday morning.

The report added that the selectors were not keen on retaining Rohit as the Test team captain for the upcoming tour of England, where India are supposed to play a five-Test series.

Rohit Sharma & MS Dhoni's Retirement Similarities

© X/ICC

Rohit Sharma's Test retirement is similar to MS Dhoni's sudden retirement decisions. Like Dhoni's international retirement, Rohit Sharma's Test retirement post came at 7:29 PM. While Dhoni deliberately chose this time, Rohit's decision was likely coincidental.

Dhoni and Rohit played their last Test match on home soil at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Both the batters played their final Test match of their careers at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia. While Dhoni announced his Test retirement mid-series, Rohit, as mentioned above, dropped himself from the playing XI for the final Test match in Sydney.Dhoni and Rohit played their last Test match on home soil at the Wankhede Stadium in Mumbai.

Both the batters played their final Test match of their careers at the iconic Melbourne Cricket Ground in Australia. While Dhoni announced his Test retirement mid-series, Rohit, as mentioned above, dropped himself from the playing XI for the final Test match in Sydney.