NEW DELHI: India's World Cup-winning captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni retired Tuesday from Test cricket shortly after his team lost yet another overseas series, this time against Australia.

Dhoni, who is one of the world's highest-earning sportsman, has chosen “to retire from Test Cricket with immediate effect in order to concentrate” on the 50-over and Twenty20 formats of the game, a statement from Indian cricket authorities said.

Former team-mate and batting legend Sachin Tendulkar was among those paying tribute to Dhoni who was the most successful Test-match skipper in India's history.

The announcement comes just weeks before India are due to begin their defence of the 50-over World Cup trophy that Dhoni lifted on home soil in 2011.

Star batsman Virat Kohli, who was the vice-captain under Dhoni, will lead the Indian team in the fourth and final Test against Australia that begins in Sydney on January 6.

While India managed to hang on for a draw in the third Test in Melbourne earlier Tuesday, it was not enough to prevent Australia from regaining the Border-Gavaskar Trophy.