England players will remain in limbo over their availability for the Indian Premier League (IPL) after the most senior figures within the ECB flew home from Bombay last night having failed to reach agreement with the all-powerful Board of Control for Cricket in India during two days of talks.

Giles Clarke, the ECB chairman, and David Collier, the chief executive, had been optimistic of settling a number of issues, which also include their level of influence in the running of the new Champions League, the eligibility of players from the “rebel” Indian Cricket League and future contests between the countries.

Kevin Pietersen, Andrew Flintoff and their colleagues are waiting to establish how long the ECB will allow them to take part in the IPL for before signing their central contracts. Sean Morris, the chief executive of the Professional Cricketers' Association (PCA), said that most of the squad have been approached by franchises.

An ECB spokesman said that Clarke and Collier will return to India for more discussions “in two or three weeks” as Paul Collingwood said that he was keeping his fingers crossed that he will be offered terms to play in the IPL, scheduled to start on April 10 and finish at the end of May.

“I would like to play in the IPL if there is a window there that does not get in the way of playing for England,” Collingwood said. “But if it gets in the way and is a hassle it will not be the route to go down.”

Darren Gough, an IPL target, has become the latest name to criticise England's one-day policy. On the eve of the second game in the seven-match series today he complained of favouritism in selection and said that Dimitri Mascarenhas, Tim Bresnan and Graham Napier all deserved chances.

One man who will not be in India is Mushtaq Ahmed, the new ECB spin consultant who has not received a work permit. The ICC is unhappy that the former Pakistan leg spinner has been invited back into the international game after his part in the match-fixing scandal that tainted the game around the turn of the decade.

Mushtaq was due to work with the England Performance squad, including Monty Panesar, during the build-up to the Test series. The ECB has assured the ICC that it will monitor Mushtaq's actions but, for now, it means that England will not have a spin coach in the land of turning pitches.

India have asked to put back the start of the first Test in Ahmedabad by 24 hours to December 12 to allow their players, including Mahendra Singh Dhoni, to rest after the Champions League, which is due to finish on December 10.