Shane Warne will retire from one-day international cricket after the World Cup to extend his Test career by at least five years and avoid the risk of being sacked like the Waugh twins.

Warne revealed on Wednesday he made his decision after suffering a dislocated shoulder last month that ruled him out of the final two Ashes Tests and forced him to undergo a torturous rehabilitation program.

"The number one priority for me is to play Test cricket for as long as I can," said Warne, who has 491 Test wickets, second on the all-time list.

"It's a decision I haven't come to lightly because I love playing for Australia, but everyone I've spoken to thinks it's a pretty positive and smart decision and also a pretty gutsy one.

"I've got mixed emotions - it's quite sad in a way that I might have only a few games left in one-day cricket but it's not as though I'm retiring from everything.

"Hopefully this will prolong my Test career and I can play for five or six years."

Warne said the anguish of his shoulder injury and the subsequent six-hour-a-day recovery sessions with team physiotherapist Errol Alcott and fitness coach Jock Campbell convinced him to devote all his energies to the Test arena.

Helter-skelter one-dayers, he decided, were too taxing on his ageing body.

"The one-day form is a fantastic way to show different skills like diving around the field, bowling different ways, slogging with the bat, throwing the stumps down, it's just great fun and I'm going to miss that," he said.

"But it's only a matter of time if you keep playing until something else is going to go wrong with injuries.

Brought to you by AAP © 2024 AAP