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Zimbabwe's series against India was, I'm afraid, a cry for help. Zimbabwe have been feisty in the past but now you pity them. Their cricketers have been, figuratively, beaten and bruised; they have been denied amenities, and now self-respect. Much like the land, its cricket has been abused, and even though many fine players and proud cricketers have emerged from there, they no longer will becausea fight without resources can only accomplish so much. Sadly, by the time they take the field, they no longer possess the weapons to compete. It needn't have been like this and Zimbabwe cricket is an illustration of worries deeper than theDRS in our game.

And so as a cricketing contest, Zimbabwe v India was forgettable. At times likethese you look beyond the scorecard, and I found myself following Virat Kohli -not so much his batting as his audition for captaincy. Having said that, a wordon his batting.

When players drop a level below the one they should really be playing at, they must look invincible, they must look they belong elsewhere. Kohli did, and untilhe recused himself from the batting order, it had seemed an unequal contest, andin a peculiar way therefore, his reputation actually grew.

I liked the fact that he opted not to bat in the last two games. There was talkabout a few records down the road, about becoming the fastest to get to a landmark, and while those are good and praiseworthy, India were in Zimbabwe for anothe

r reason. I liked, too, that batsmen who were picked were given a number that did them some justice.

Far too often players are picked, get an appearance against their name but not the opportunity they seek. Here, Ambati Rayudu, so long in the wilderness and a talent in danger of being enveloped by rust, was sent in at No. 4. It could easily have been Dinesh Karthik or Suresh Raina, but Kohli, or maybe Duncan Fletcher,realised they needed to do justice to the man picked. It was a generous move.

In the course of time Raina got to bat at No. 3, Cheteshwar Pujara opened the batting, Ajinkya Rahane got his preferred position, and I particularly liked the fact that Ravindra Jadeja batted at No. 4 in the last game.

These have been a wonderful few months for the young spinner, even if they werepreceded by much armchair ridicule. Jadeja is now No. 1 on the ODI rankings forbowlers, and his challenge will lie in staying among the top three, but his future is not as a bowling allrounder, not as someone coming in and slogging at theend. Jadeja made it to the Indian team on the strength of the runs he made, andhe is far too exciting a batting talent to be lost in the batting order, livingsomewhere in the suburbs. Sending him at No. 4 was an acknowledgement that he isa batsman too, and he justified it by finishing the game. It might seem like asmall event but it tells a story.

In fact, India's future - more in Test cricket, really - will be best served byJadeja, the batting allrounder, and R Ashwin, the bowling allrounder, batting either side of MS Dhoni (in fact, I really do hope Ashwin seeks to bat at No. 6 or

7 himself). It will allow India to play five bowlers consistently, and in an era where pitches are getting slower and drier, having two spinners who can bat will be a luxury that few teams have.

Indeed, while Jadeja already bats at No. 4 for Saurashtra, I have no doubt thatAshwin must be in the top six for Tamil Nadu. There is an old theory proved right ever so often. Players tend to bat in a manner that the batting number dictates. If you push a batsman to No. 8 or 9, he will start batting like a No. 8 or 9.Conversely, move a player up the order and he starts building an innings and leaving balls that he might have fancied a swish at.

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So Jadeja at four was another tick for Kohli the captain. As indeed was his explanation for not playing Parvez Rasool. There were many of us who thought it might be a good idea to give the young man a chance, but Kohli's suggestion that those on the bench for a long time must play longer has merit. Amit Mishra had to play all five, and if Jadeja had to bat too, there wasn't room for Rasool. Now hemust use the opportunity in South Africa and that is what good players do: notsulk about missing out but get excited by what lies ahead.

Over the next month, while the top stars get the break they so need (and one they must enjoy because there isn't another in sight till June 2015!), the best young talent is playing for India A, both in South Africa and in India. That is howit must be. On the field, Indian cricket is looking okay for now. Off the field, well, not quite.

Harsha Bhogle is a television presenter, writer, and a commentator on IPL and other cricket. His Twitter feed is hereRSS Feeds: Harsha Bhogle ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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Posted by m_ilind on (August 9, 2013, 18:02 GMT)I tend to follow the Aus dictum: play 4 bowlers, if they can't get your job done, then a fifth or sixth bowler won't either. India's strength has always been spin, so playing two spinners is a must, that's where Jadeja & Ashwing come in. It's a bonus that both are decent batsmen also, apart from Ashwin being a world class spinner. Having an extra spinner or a medium pacer is a choice based on thepitch & weather, but making a permanent slot for both these players would be a mistake.

Posted by Divya Jain on (August 9, 2013, 17:15 GMT)We don't need all rounders in test matches, unless they are match winners in both departments. We need bowlers who could take 5 wickets and batsmen who could score hunderds. A leggie would be a better bet for sure then a mediocre jadeja attest level.

Posted by aarpee2 on (August 9, 2013, 16:07 GMT)I understand that Jadeja is the flavor of the moment but he is yet to prove he is a man for all seasons.It is only due to lack of fitness and form of Yuvi he could consolidate his place in the ODI's though the jury is still out on his batting in tests.The SA series will be a game changer for Jadu depending on which wayit goes.If we have to win abroad we need to have 5 specialist batsman and 5 specialist bowlers with MSD as the all-rounder.How often in the past have we allowed tai lenders to take the game away from us with 7 batsma,4 bowler formula..Thisin spite of a world class top order 1to6.Time we learnt from our past

Posted by Anand Kumar on (August 9, 2013, 14:38 GMT)Great frnds...so you mean to say that kohli,yadav and dhawan will play in all three formats a country where cricket is being played by millions of people,will play on 15 to 16 players in 3 formats and Dhoni will play for the sole reason that he made double hundred against australia,otherwise I same several people ,notanywhere else,on cricinfo saying to remove dhoni from the test team.We have bhuavaneshwar,this does not mean that he need to be played in every format. I am seeing rohit from his debut match and except handful of matches,he failed and everyone saying saying that jadeja cannot handle condtions in SA,if he can't bat at no. 4 or 6,then where can he bat in test cricket?All of you joke that gambhir doesn't play well in Tests?seriously?He was no. 1 player in tests and you support dhawan who played only 1 test match and handled swinging conitions in ODIs.Karthi

k,techincally weaker made 91 6 years ago against england.He played well in CT warm-up games,made 97 in warm-up in aus.

Posted by Shashipathy Katikaneni on (August 9, 2013, 14:32 GMT)My dear Harsha, I think you are stepping on a BANANA PEEL here - the all rounders battting either side of MSD. This will take out a genuine batter at Number 6 -who could be Rohit, Manoj [i still have hopes for him], Ajinkya, Rayudu et al.I understand Sir Jadeja has some serious numbers but they are in Ranji Trophy inRajkot for crying out loud. Remember what happened to an "Allrounder" when GregChappel sent him up the order?? Ask Irfan. Sir Jadeja may end up as another Yuvi in Test matches. I would like to have a genuine Lggie in the Team. Amit Mishrahas been a puzzle. Since we Indian team supporters can only dream [in our wildest dreams] of a genuine fast bowler, why not invest in a genuine leggie?? Karan

Sharma, Anustup Majumdar? or someone else. Leg Spinners are as attacking as a genuine fast bolwer and more of a possibility in Indian Cricket.

Posted by Raj Kane on (August 9, 2013, 14:18 GMT)I would stick with the combination of Ashwin and Ojha for Test matches, saving Jadeja for limited overs. I think Irfan Pathan should be tried out as an all-rounder for Tests.

Posted by itsthewayuplay on (August 9, 2013, 14:12 GMT)I'm afraid Harshe you are being premature in describing Jadeja s all-rounder ad

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you are simply wrong to suggest that he is in the side on the strength of his batting. There's no doubt that Jadeja had been prolific domestically prior to hisselection. Jadeja's value to the team has been as a spinner and fielder and hasscored some important runs in ODIs but at test level? He would get currently into the team as a bowler alone but not necessarily as a batter so therefore he isnot an all-rounder. It seems to me that many Indian supporters are obsessed withturning every bowler into an all-rounder. Why? If the bowlers are taking wickets and the top 5 are are scoring runs, an all-rounder is not necessary. AndersonMcGrath Warne Akram Younis Donald Zaheer Kumble Ambrose Walsh etc etc were all chosen on their basis of their bowling, so why shouldn't the current crop of Indian bowlers? Are we really going to sacrifice Bhuvneshwar Kumar's wickets for more runs with the bat? Not me.