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Vaughan Rejects To Participate in IPL Auction

Michael Vaughan said he did not put himself forward for next week's Indian Premier League auction because his primary focus is a recall to England's Test team.


Vaughan who is currently 34, resigned the England captaincy in August last year and has not played for his country since.
Though his career is clearly drawing to a close, he nevertheless opted out of the chance for a handsome paycheque in India because he still believes he can fight his way back into the England team for the Ashes this summer.


"I want to get back into the Test team and the only way to do that is to start the season with Yorkshire, play two or three four-day games and hopefully get a couple of hundreds" says Vaughan.

Vaughan made his name in the 2002-03 Ashes when he scored 633 runs in the five Tests, and famously captained England to victory on the next occasion the teams met, in 2005. His one-day career, however, was less auspicious. He never managed an ODI century in 86 ODIs, and featured in just two Twenty20 internationals.

Meanwhile, Shaun Udal,40, has withdrawn his name from the auction, which takes place on February 6, citing his, commitments to his county side, Middlesex.


"I've decided, after some soul searching and advice from people I trust, not to enter myself into the auction for a variety of reasons," Udal told the Middlesex website. "One of the main reasons being the Middlesex captaincy, which is something that I really treasure."


The former Hampshire spinner was brought out of retirement by Middlesex last winter and handed the captaincy towards the end of the 2008 season. "If I did get taken on by one of the IPL franchises I would have been coming back after a month or so of the season and it would have an unsettling effect on the squad. I've always preached loyalty and hopefully now I've shown it by not going down the IPL route."