3 reasons why this West Indies tour is good for India

The Indian Cricket team have one of the busiest schedules in International Cricket. This year they have already played full (away) tours against South Africa (January), and England (July).

They lost against South Africa and England. Both the series were closer than the scoreline suggests. There were two common reasons behind these two series losses. First, constant alteration of the playing eleven and second, lack of practice games. Both of these factors came into play when India couldn't capitalize on those crunch situations. While the bowling was a plus point for them on both the occasions, their batting often let them down.

Winning away from home is a challenge for any team but India was expected to win, owing to their bowling arsenal and batting might.

India are currently playing West Indies in a home series consisting of two Tests, 5 ODIs and 3 T20Is. While some might argue that this series is needless right before the onset of a major away tour of Australia. I don't disagree but I don't agree either. Both have satisfactory justifications and it is better to look at the positives

. Let's have a look at 3 reasons why this home series might do more good than bad for India.

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#3 Testing out new opening combinations

Shaw is a bright prospect for the Indian team.

Both Dhawan and Vijay failed miserably in England and after such a disappointing show, they ought to be dropped. Although it is a solution, it presents a problem of its own. Finding a new, settled opening combination is a challenge for any team. In the first Test we saw the teen prodigy Prithvi Shaw making his Test debut and scoring a scintillating hundred on the same day.

It has done a world of good to the young batsman's confidence and he will certainly look forward to the second Test. Should he replicate his heroics, he will look to make the Australian tour his own. It's always tough to stop a man on a mission.

Coming to the second opener, KL Rahul needs more exposure. He lacks confidence owing to a disastrous England tour barring the hundred that he got in the final Test. He has looked scratchy ever since. KL got out for a duck in the first Test and it's unlikely that he will be dropped for the second Test owing to the tremendous amount of talent that this youngster possesses. With not much lateral movement expected, Rahul will certainly be able to score freely once he gets his eye in.

#2 Gives the team an opportunity to look beyond Hardik Pandya

Pandya needs to work on his consistency

For long Pandya has been dubbed as 'The Next Kapil Dev' but the truth is, he is nowhere close to living that tagline. Pandya's inconsistency in the longest format of the game has gone up and that's a matter of concern for Virat and Co.

Jadeja was tried ahead of Ashwin in the fifth and final Test of the England tour and since then, he has looked to prove himself to the management. He was called in for the Asia Cup as a backup and he showcased his capabilities yet again.

Jadeja has been on a mission and with the Australian pitches expected to assist the spinners on Days 4 and 5, Jadeja is likely to play a major role in the shaping of the series.

Bhuvaneshwar will be back for the series Down Under as well. This is some news for the team. Another possibility is that Bhuvi can be tried as a bowling all-rounder. Bhuvi has shown us that he can bat a bit and do much more damage with the ball. Either way, India should look beyond Hardik Pandya for the balance of the team.

#1 Helps Ajinkya Rahane regain his confidence

Rahane needs to be at his very best if India are to beat Australia

Rahane has been a pale shadow of what he used to be back in 2014. This version of Rahane lacks confidence and is insecure at the crease. Rahane is the best number 5 player that India has had in years and it's his job to hold the sticks together while others fall.

An insecure Rahane does no good to anyone. This insecurity might be attributed to the constant chopping and changing of the playing eleven. I am hoping that the England tour gave some suitable lessons to the team selection strategies of team India. Constant changing of the playing eleven causes the players to play with a fear of failure and not their original game.

Should Rahane get going in the second Test against West Indies, his confidence and morale will be boosted which might just help India clinch the series Down Under.