India, May 19 -- Former England all-rounder Moeen Ali lauded Rohit Sharma's contribution to Test cricket, saying there was a time when the right-hander was the most talented player in the world. Rohit, who recently turned 38, announced his retirement from Test cricket ahead of the upcoming marquee England tour. The right-hander called time on his Test career, having played 67 games in which he scored 4301 runs, including 12 centuries and 18 fifties.

Rohit endured a horrid Test performance in India's last two series against New Zealand (home) and Australia (away). In the Border-Gavaskar Trophy, he scored just 31 runs, and his form was so bad that Rohit decided to withdraw from the last Test in Sydney.

Despite the poor returns in the last...