Rank no-hopers. Just waiting to be beaten.

Or at least that’s how the West Indies are expected to behave when India play them in a four-Test series beginning on July 21.

The buzz around Indian cricket is optimistic. The West Indies tour has been touted as the perfect way for India to start proceedings before they begin a high-profile and lengthy home season. Captain Virat Kohli is expected to bring home another away Test trophy, after doing it against Sri Lanka last year. And the West Indies tour represents the perfect way for new head coach Anil Kumble to adjust to his new role and figure out what needs to be done.

In all this lies a sad indictment of the West Indies Test cricket team. Despite some heady successes in coloured clothes this year, their red ball cricket form has been poor – they are ranked eighth in the world currently, just above Bangladesh and Zimbabwe. They were comprehensively hammered in their three-Test series against Australia last year, when they were so apathetic that the cricket world feared it was witnessing the end of the West Indies.

"Mediocre" West Indies

But hold on, they don’t always play as per their ranking.

Last year, England travelled to the Caribbean just before a much anticipated Ashes series and after a draining World Cup. Their elimination by Bangladesh at the group stage did not really dampen their enthusiasm. On the eve of the tour, the then-incoming chairman of the England and Wales Cricket Board, Colin Graves, struck a condescending note when he said, “I’d certainly be disappointed if we don’t win the West Indies series, because I am pretty sure the West Indies are going to have a mediocre team,”

West Indies seemed like they were playing to prediction after just managing to dig themselves out of a defeat in the first Test and then tamely going down by nine wickets to England in the second Test.

But at Barbados, a venue where they had only won once in their last seven Test matches, they exploded. After being shot out for only 189 in their first innings and conceding a 68-run lead, they roared back to dismiss England for only 123 in the second innings. In mounting tension, they chased down the target of 194 and ensured that the series finished all square at 1-1.

West Indies coach Phil Simmons ensured that he had his missive ready for Colin Graves. “How much cricket has he played?” he fired back, after West Indies levelled the series, and revealed that the word “mediocre” had been pasted on their team’s dressing room door to serve as motivation to prove England wrong.

An unknown prospect

It’s a similar state of circumstances in which India visit West Indies. On paper, they are favourites and are supposed to comprehensively win the series. But it may not be easy. Man to man, West Indies may not have the same quality, but as the Test series against England and also their triumph at the World Twenty20 this year proved, a motivated West Indies can conjure up enough strength to make it very difficult for Virat Kohli and his men.

Undoubtedly, the Caribbean is a bit of an unknown prospect for this young Indian squad. Only four members of this squad, Virat Kohli, Amit Mishra, Ishant Sharma and Murali Vijay, have played in West Indies before. And though the West Indies squad, which is yet to be announced, may lack some star power, there is a lot of talent hidden there that can cause a few surprises.

Their young 23-year-old opener Kraig Brathwaite won plenty of plaudits for being one of the few bright spots in an otherwise drab Australian tour. The other Bravo, first name Darren, much more famous for being the nephew of the great Brian Lara, finally showed glimpses of his latent potential in the first Test at Hobart, scoring 108 against an Australian attack comprising Josh Hazlewood, James Pattinson and Peter Siddle.

In Jerome Taylor, Kemar Roach and captain Jason Holder, West Indies have a pace attack that can trouble an inexperienced Indian batting line-up, which is still finding its feet in international cricket and did not really impress against either South Africa or Sri Lanka at home.

But India will be confident. They travel to the Caribbean after winning the last two series they played there, in 2006 and 2011. But the statistics also tell another story – both these series, comprising four and three Test matches, were won 1-0, which means the West Indies might prove a difficult proposition to break down. As history suggests, if something rouses them, then there’s no telling what they are capable of.