India's players will not feature in the Big Bash, Australia's domestic Twenty20 competition scheduled to begin in mid-December this year, due to the BCCI's policy of not releasing players during the domestic season in India - running from October to March.

With the Big Bash now restructured as a city-based league, each team is expected to be allowed to pick four international players in the squad, and some of them were hoping to include some of India's limited-overs specialists.

''In fact last year some teams wanted Indian players and they were not available because of [the] domestic tournament," Ratnakar Shetty, the BCCI's chief administrative officer, told the Age.

India play a triangular ODI series in Australia following the Tests later this year, but none of their players would be able to use the Big Bash as a means of preparation for it. Shetty, however, said India's players could participate in a Twenty20 league in Sri Lanka in July, provided they took permission beforehand.

''It's a policy decision of the board, and when there is a domestic tournament on I don't think we will release any players," Shetty said. "Sri Lanka now has some league in the month of July and it doesn't clash with our domestic tournament so whoever wants to go with prior permission can participate."

Players from the West Indies have previously been prominent inclusions in the Big Bash, with Chris Gayle, Kieron Pollard and Dwayne Bravo featuring in the league.

The Big Bash has undergone a transformation after it was decided in October last year that the league - for 2011-12 - will involve eight city-based franchises with private investors allowed to buy a 33% stake.