Michael Vaughan will not tour India with England this winter, it has been confirmed.

Vaughan's name will be missing from the 15 names to be announced on Monday to travel to the sub-continent for two Tests - and he will not be joining the shadow England Performance Squad either.

ECB national selector Geoff Miller was at pains to stress in his statement on Saturday that the reason for Vaughan's absence is his lack of form for Yorkshire since stepping down as Test captain and being replaced by Kevin Pietersen last month.

That assertion corresponds with a report that the decision to take a break from the game is not Vaughan's unilaterally but an agreement with his employers.

At the same time it counters suggestions elsewhere the 34-year-old might be considering not a 'break' from cricket but retirement to pursue other interests - including offers of media work.

"Michael has not been selected for the tour of India because his place in the Test squad cannot be justified based on recent form," said Miller.

"Our view is that it will be to England's benefit if he takes a break from international cricket in the period leading up to Christmas and spends time working on his game."

The hope is Vaughan, this month awarded a central contract, will be able to return to his best - and to the England team - either in the Caribbean next spring or in time for the 2009 Ashes.

"We have discussed the situation with Michael," Miller added.

"He fully understands the reasons for the selectors' decision and has made clear to us that he is fully committed to winning back his place in the England Test side."

Vaughan will be forever associated with England's shock 2005 Ashes victory - when he led his country to their first series success against Australia for 18 years.

A career-threatening knee injury stopped him taking any part in the rematch Down Under - which resulted in a 5-0 whitewash for England under Andrew Flintoff.

It is less than six months ago Vaughan was publicly eying a prominent role not only in next summer's Ashes but the 2010-11 series Down Under too.

Yet after 40 runs in five innings in the first three Tests of this summer's defeat at home to South Africa, he bade a tearful farewell to the captaincy - vowing to try to regain form for Yorkshire, after a short initial break.

A similarly fruitless run with the bat followed for his county, though - and when he sat out his county's final Championship match of the season at Hove, because of twinges in his problem right knee and a side strain, the rumours began to circulate about his long-term plans.

But as far as his employers are concerned, Vaughan's future remains very much as a prospective England player in next summer's Ashes and beyond.

"Like all centrally contracted players, Michael will be given a clear programme over the next six months which will include training and match practice over the winter period," Miller reports.

"With a busy period of international cricket on the horizon, we would like to stress that he remains very much part of our plans over the coming year."

Michael Vaughan Factfile:

1974: Born in Eccles, Manchester, on October 29.

1992-93: Tours with England Under-19 in India.

1993: Makes Yorkshire debut and is voted the Cricket Society's most promising young cricketer.

1995: Awarded county cap.

1999-2000: Makes his Test debut for England against South Africa at Johannesburg.

2000: A broken bone in his hand rules him out of the two-Test series against Zimbabwe.

2000-01: Tours with England in Pakistan and Sri Lanka but plays in just one Test - the series decider in Colombo - because of a calf strain.

2001: Hits his maiden Test century in the Old Trafford Test defeat to Pakistan. Helps his county win their first Championship title for 33 years. However, a knee injury rules him out of the entire Ashes summer.

2002: Makes 115 in the first Test against Sri Lanka at Lord's. Misses the ICC Champions Trophy to have an operation on his troublesome knee.

2002-03: Returns in time to be fit for the start of the Ashes series and makes 177 on the first day of the second Test at Adelaide and adds another century at Melbourne, 145, his sixth of an amazing year. Records two half-centuries in five World Cup innings.

2003: May 6 - Named captain of England's one-day team.

July 28: Appointed new England Test captain after Nasser Hussain steps down.

September - Although he struggles for form with the bat, Vaughan's first experience of Test captaincy ends on a reasonably high note as England draw series with South Africa 2-2.

November 14 - Scores 105 over seven-and-a-half hours and 333 balls to help England save the second Test against Sri Lanka in Kandy. His monumental innings was his 10th Test century and his first as captain.

2004: Victory within three days secures England's first Test series win in the Caribbean for over 30 years as an eight-wicket success in Barbados wraps up the series.

July-August - Whitewash of West Indies in four-Test series.

2005: September - Vaughan leads England to historic 2-1 Ashes series win with a rain-affected draw in the fifth Test, thanks to centuries from South Africa-born duo Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen.

November 7 - Injures knee and retires hurt on day two of the second tour match against Pakistan A, which England lose by six wickets.

November 11 - Ruled out of first Test in Multan with Marcus Trescothick taking over as captain.

November 20 - Returns for second Test in Faisalabad which England draw. Also plays in third Test in Lahore which England lose to suffer a 2-0 series defeat.

December 6 - Announces he is to undergo exploratory knee surgery and will miss the five-match one-day series in Pakistan.

2006: February 27 - Having been cleared to lead England on the tour to India, Vaughan is ruled out of the first Test and returns home from Nagpur after a recurrence of his knee injury.

March 2 - Ruled out of entire series against India following a visit to his specialist.

May 29 - Returns to action in Yorkshire's C&G Trophy game against Scotland, scoring 67. Comeback too late to feature in either Test or one-day series against Sri Lanka.

June 29 - Told he needs a fourth operation on his knee, ruling him out for four to six months.

July 29 - Admits he "might never play again".

November 29 - Made a playing return for an Academy team against a Western Australia XI in Perth, coming through a spell in the field unscathed before making a seven-ball duck.

December 21 - Selected in the one-day squad for the triangular series with Australia and New Zealand.

2007: January 6 - Named captain for the triangular series.

January 17 - Ruled out of triangular series match against Australia after tearing his left hamstring in a match against New Zealand.

April - Returns to captain England at the World Cup, but a series of unconvincing displays from the team and Vaughan individually culminate in elimination at the Super Eight stage.

May - Suffersbroken finger batting for Yorkshire. Expected to be sidelined for three to four weeks, making him a doubt for the start of the Test series against West Indies.

May 25 - After missing first Test, he returns for the second, scoring his first Test century for almost two years.

June 11 - Becomes England's most successful captain in terms of wins with 60-run victory over West Indies in the third npower Test at Old Trafford to wrap up the four-match series 2-0.

June 18 - Stands down as captain of England's one-day side with immediate effect.

August 13 - England lose their first home Test series since 2001 at the hands of India.

September - Named in ICC's Test team of the year.

2008: January - England lose Test series in Sri Lanka to relinquish second place in the ICC Test rankings.

February-March - First overseas Test series win for England in three years in New Zealand.

May-June - Black Caps defeated once again at home.

July-August - England lose two of the first three Tests against South Africa to suffer a home series defeat for the second summer in succession. Vaughan struggles badly with an average of just eight.

August 3 - At an emotional press conference Vaughan announces he is to step down as Test captain and take a short break from the game and is replaced by Kevin Pietersen.

August 27 - Returns for Yorkshire against Kent in the Championship but makes 10 and nought with the bat.

September 9 - Handed a 12-month central contract by the ECB and chief selector Geoff Miller insisted he still had "a role to play" for England.

September 10 - Yorkshire chief executive Stewart Regan confirms Vaughan will remain with the county next season despite rumoured interest from Lancashire and Warwickshire.

September 24 - Misses Yorkshire's final match against Sussex with a side strain leaving him with a total of 41 runs from his last four Champioship innings since stepping down as England captain.

September 27 - The ECB confirm he will not be selected for England's tour of India later this year, citing a lack of form.

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