The decision comes just two weeks after FIBA had written to Keith Mair, chief executive of England Bastketball, to confirm that a men’s tournament would be staged in the Indian capital.

The tournament was not directly connected with the Commonwealth Games, which are being staged in New Delhi in October.

Although the scrapping of the tournament represents a set-back to the Indian organisers and those players who were hoping to compete, FIBA stressed that the cancellation had nothing to do with concerns about facilities, organisation or security – three issues which have blighted the build-up to  the Delhi Games, the first time the Commonwealths have been staged in India.

"The FIBA Commonwealth men’s championship has been cancelled," a FIBA spokesman told insidethegames today.

Although Australia are understood to have requested a postponement of the Commonwealth tournament until 2011, FIBA blamed a crowded international programme for its decision.

"The major national federations of the Commonwealth have experienced difficulty with the scheduling of the national team programmes as Australia, Canada and New Zealand have all qualified for the FIBA world championship in Turkey," the spokesman said, "while England - as part of Great Britain - will compete in the European Championships qualification series."

But Mair expressed his disappointment at the scrapping of the tournament, which England Basketball had wanted to use for players not included in the Great Britain squad.

"We always knew we wouldn’t have access to the GB players," Mair said.

"Four years ago, using squads of similar construction, we went to the Commonwealth Games and won two bronze medals.

"So we were hoping that the Commonwealth Championships would be on.

"Clearly, FIBA wanted a tournament with the top players in it."

Basketball has only been included in the Commonwealth Games once, in Melbourne four years ago.

There, teams from eight countries, including England and Scotland, competed in men’s and women’s tournaments.

Both gold medals were won by Australia, with England’s men and women taking the bronze medals.

There are no plans for the sport to be contested at the 2014 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, where hockey (men and women), netball (women) and rugby sevens (men) will be the team sports.