Cricket Australia has dangled multi-year contracts before the country's top handful of stars in an effort to convince them to forgo the riches of the Indian Premier League for the next three years.

Fairfax Media has learnt that Test captain Steve Smith, vice-captain David Warner and fast bowlers Mitchell Starc, Josh Hazlewood and Pat Cummins were contacted individually in recent weeks with verbal offers of three-year deals rather than standard one-year central contracts on the condition that they sit out the IPL.

Standing firm: David Warner is one of several top Australian players that Cricket Australia would like to skip the IPL. Credit:AP

Pat Howard, CA's newly re-signed executive general manager of team performance, made the approaches, which have come with the governing body and the Australian Cricketers' Association still in dispute over a new pay deal for players.

The offers were met with a lukewarm response from the players. The terms of the multi-year deals discussed informally with Howard were regarded by the players as underwhelming, with the only perceived incentive for them missing the IPL being the security of a three-year contract.