The ongoing Test series against England might be engrossing but the real contest, for the fans, begins December 25 -- when the two T20 and three ODI series against Pakistan kicks off. And while the BCCI has welcomed the resumption of bilateral series between the two teams after governmental go-ahead, it has made a clear demarcation between national commitments and the Indian Premier League.

According to sources, the IPL Governing Council has informed the franchises, after their meeting on November 21, not to pick Pakistani players during the IPL player auction in January, though officially the matter has been deferred till the next meeting. The Governing Council includes chairman Rajiv Shukla, Arun Jaitley, Ravi Shastri, Anirudh Chaudhary, MP Pandove among others.

Sources said the board is wary of several factors, including recent spot-fixing allegations against Pakistani players, their off-field misdemeanours, providing extra security as well as threats of disruption from political outfits.

A top BCCI official confirmed to Mail Today that the board isn't keen on Pakistan players in the IPL. "We are trying to discourage franchises from picking them during the auction, for obvious reasons," he said without spelling out the details.

Pakistani players, including Shaid Afridi, Shoaib Akhtar, Salman Butt and Mohammad Asif all played in the first edition of IPL but were released from their contracts subsequently. Asif was banned for one year after being found guilty of using banned drugs and later the BCCI, in the wake of 2008 terror attacks, shut the doors. Only former Pakistan player Azhar Memhood was part of last IPL, but he was picked as a British citizen.

The decision would come as a shocker to several Pakistani players, who were hoping that resumption of ties could also pave their way to IPL riches.

The franchises, though, are comfortable with the BCCI mandate. "There aren't too many big players to pick anyways, and most of us have limited slots. Maybe if those players were available, Saeed Ajmal would have been a major draw or Abdul Razzaq or Umar Akmal. But IPL was running well even without them and if the BCCI doesn't allow it, we are fine with it," a franchise owner said.