3 Reasons why India’s Test series against West Indies is completely irrelevant before the Australia tour

When India thrashed opponent after opponent in their long run of home Test series, they looked like ‘Invincibles’ in the Test arena. In particular, their back-to-back (away and home) Test series Sri Lanka created a false impression among the cricketing fraternity.

With a mind full of (over) confidence from their unbeaten home run, Virat Kohli's men looked like the team to beat ahead of their much-awaited three major away tours.

"The conditions will be testing, but like I have said before, this one and half years will define this Indian cricket team and the whole team is aware of that" - Ravi Shastri, the Coach of the Indian cricket team, before the start of the South Africa tour

However, the outcome was different in their first two tours against South Africa and England. All India could manage was a solitary consolation victory in each of those series.

Now, ahead of their major overseas assignment against Australia, India will be hosting West Indies for a two-match Test series. Let us look at three reasons why this Test series is irrelevant ahead of the Australia tour.

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#3 Conditions

The conditions in Australia will be very different

The subcontinent tracks (India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and UAE) are often known as the graveyards for batsmen from SENA (South Africa, England, New Zealand, and Australia) countries. The way in which the ball spins from Day 1 is a nightmare for players from SENA nations.

Similarly, the bouncing, seaming and swinging conditions in SENA countries will be alien to subcontinent batsmen. It is not too long ago that India struggled in the swinging conditions (especially at Lord’s) against England.

Hence, India preparing for the Australian series in their familiar territory will not favour them in any case. Instead, a much earlier arrival in Australia along with a couple of practice matches can help them in acclimatizing to those conditions.

#2 Opposition

West Indies' last Test series in India was the farewell series of Sachin Tendulkar

The last time West Indies won a Test series against a dominant team (apart from Bangladesh and Zimbabwe) was in 2012 against New Zealand (home series). Currently, they are in eighth place in the Test rankings with only Bangladesh and Zimbabwe below them (Afghanistan and Ireland have not won a Test yet).

On the contrary, India is the no.1 Test ranked nation while Australia is ranked third. Therefore, this two-match Test series is a complete mismatch between these two teams.

Even though West Indies have performed reasonably well in the past one year, their inexperience in the Indian conditions will play a significant role in the series. The last time West Indies played a Test series in India was a long time ago in 2013.

#1 False impression on the player’s form

Dhawan scored a record-breaking century in the first session against Afghanistan before the England tour

If the previous two reasons combine, then the outcome will be a no-brainer. England’s tour exposed the flaws in the technique of Indian batsmen. It was not the first time in recent times.

Earlier, the tour against South Africa also did the same. However, a one-off Test series against Afghanistan (before the England tour) changed the mindset of everyone. Suddenly, the Indian batsmen, especially the openers looked in good shape ahead of the England tour.

After the England tour, both those openers lost their place in the India squad against West Indies. Since Rahul is the first-choice opener now, either Mayank Agarwal or Prithvi Shaw will make their Test debut in the upcoming series.

Suppose if any one of the debutants performs well in the West Indies series, then selecting that player for the all-important Australia tour will be unfair.

When all these three reasons are put together, then the series against West Indies looks completely irrelevant ahead of the ‘Thunder Down Under.’