A stick for the selectors, and carrot-halva for its own members, appears to be the policy the Board of Control for Cricket in India has adopted.

Thus, on Sunday, the Board's working committee meeting voted, among other things, to ratify the decision that selectors will henceforth not travel with the team on foreign tours; they will instead go around the country watching Ranji Trophy matches while team selection on tour in future will be the responsibility of the captain, vice captain and coach.

No problems there -- there really is no case to be made for selectors going with the team. Players and captains in the past have privately expressed their dissatisfaction over selectors who intrude into the dressing room, sit in on strategy meetings, decide the composition of the playing XI and otherwise interfere in matters that logically should be outside their purview.

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What is inexplicable, though, is the Board's decision to send one member of every one of its 27 member-associations on an all expenses paid junket to Australia during the Indian team's tour of Australia just begun.

"They will be going there as delegates," Board secretary Niranjan Shah said, when asked why; he did not however clarify what they would be "delegates" to, or since when cricket matches included "delegates".

"We will send a group of around 7 or 8 officials every week by rotation so that everyone will get a chance to visit Australia," Shah said.

So that apparently is the point -- keep selectors, who by some stretch of the imagination could be said to have some useful role to play, at home, but send officials, who have nothing whatsoever to do, no official duty to perform, on what is essentially a joy ride.

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Why? The only logical explanation is that selectors do not vote in Board elections, but associations do; therefore, anything to keep associations happy, no matter how much money is spent in the process, is a good thing as far as the Board is concerned.

Former chief selector Kiran More slammed the decision not to send a selector on foreign tour.

"It is important to send a selector on foreign tours because he helps the team management with regards to selection of the team," More said. "He can help the captain in making last minute changes or if there any injuries and replacements are needed."

More, who was the chairman of selectors between 2002-06, said during his tenure they followed the procedure of sending at least one selector on a rotation basis.

"Every foreign tour, we had one selector with the team. It was done on a rotation basis and I used to suggest the name to the Board," he said.

More's anger might be seen as a case of sticking up for his own: in the case of injuries, one selector with the team is in any case of no use, since replacements are decided on by the five selectors together, mostly via telephonic discussions. To do this, you don't have to be in Australia or anywhere else.

However, More's point about sending officials is well taken. "If they had been sent for checking out the infrastructures, then it is different, but they are going without any purpose," More said.

Interestingly, Ajit Wadekar, former captain and former chairman of selectors, said the board had a point in not sending selectors on tours. "I think selectors must be watching domestic cricket and try to unearth new talent," Wadekar said.

"Once they select the team, their job is over and then it is left to the team management to select the playing eleven on tour.

"India would be better served if selectors go and watch domestic cricket. If any player is not performing on tour, they can have another player ready from domestic cricket to replace him," the veteran said.

In essence, he was agreeing with the board's decision -- but only in respect to stopping selectorial junkets. Asked about the decision to send association representatives to Australia, Wadekar laughed.

"I really can't understand the logic behind it," he said.