NEW DELHI, May 8: India's tour of West Indies starting this week is an excellent opportunity to end their 20-year run without a major Test series victory outside the sub-continent, captain Rahul Dravid said on Monday.

“It is always a big challenge touring West Indies,” he told reporters. “It is a great opportunity for us to do well, try and correct the record of not winning outside the sub-continent for so long.”

The world's third-ranked Test side last won a major series outside the Indian sub-continent in England in 1986.

Their best efforts away from familiar spin-friendly pitches were 1-1 draws in England in 2002 and in Australia in 2003-04.

The team leaves on Friday on a 47-day trip, playing five one-dayers followed by four Tests.India have shown terrific one-day form since Dravid took over as captain in October, drubbing Sri Lanka 6-1 and England 5-1 at home and claiming a 4-1 triumph in Pakistan.

However, the have often struggled for consistency in Tests, losing 1-0 in Pakistan early this year and allowing an injury-hit England to rally to draw a three-Test series 1-1 in March.

Dravid said the arrival of talented youngsters had boosted one-day performances, but they needed more time to replicate the efforts in Tests.

“We've lost a couple of tests and I won't say it is very bad,” he said. “For younger players getting used to it, adjusting to Tests is harder.

“We are working on becoming an all-round side which can do well in both forms of the game.”

Premier batsman Sachin Tendulkar will miss the one-dayers following a shoulder surgery. Experienced spinner Anil Kumble and batsman Vangipurappu Laxman no longer figure in the one-day squad.

Although West Indies are a shadow of the force they were until mid 1990s, Dravid felt they could not be taken lightly.

West Indies rallied to beat India 2-1 on their previous Test tour in 2002, but have managed just four series victories out of 15, three of them versus lowly Bangladesh and Zimbabwe.

Dravid said: “In some ways their team is like ours, a mix of experienced players and young and eager ones.

Few in the Indian team have played in West Indies previously, but Dravid felt that the youngsters should cash in on the opportunity to gain first hand experience of the game's rich tradition in the Caribbean, also the venue for next year's World Cup.

—Reuters