Nottinghamshire all-rounder Samit Patel has withdrawn from the Indian Premier League Auction in an attempt to further his claim for a place in England’s Test side.

Patel’s representatives have held talks with several franchises but Patel has elected to declare himself unavailable ahead of tonight’s midnight deadline to enter the auction.

“My biggest ambition is to play Test cricket and I need to score a high volume of runs in the Championship to push my case,” said Patel.

“If I was selected for the IPL then I would miss several Championship matches and that won’t help me at a time when I need to do everything I can to impress the selectors.

“I have listened to the advice from people that I trust and it is clear that this decision is the right one to have made for cricket reasons.

“The IPL is an exciting tournament and I would like to take be involved in it in the future but not to the detriment of my England ambitions.”

Patel’s availability at the start of the domestic season is a further boost for Nottinghamshire who will play seven LV= County Championship matches before the end of May.

Nottinghamshire Director of Cricket Mick Newell endorsed Patel’s decision.

“Samit has got himself back into England’s limited overs teams but he feels that he can become a Test Match regular and it goes without saying that scoring a high volume of runs for Nottinghamshire will help him to achieve his ambition,” said Newell.

“Staying away from the IPL this year is a mature decision and one that we hope will benefit Samit’s career and improve our prospects in the Championship.”