When Polly Umrigar used to be curator of the Wankhede wicket, his favourite reply to how the pitch might behave was "Wickets are like women ... unpredictable". Umrigar's words, meant to highlight the hazards of pitch-reading, acquire a new significance before the first India-West Indies Test, which will be played on an untested wicket in Mumbai. The decision to relay the pitches at ten of India's international grounds – the idea was to create more sporting conditions – is refreshingly progressive. While it might amount to surrendering home advantage in the short term, if the BCCI can achieve its aims then India's cricketers might be liberated from a lifelong diffidence against pace and bounce.

But while all three Tests against West Indies – at Mumbai, Chennai and Kolkata – will be played on relaid tracks, there is no guarantee that the ball will indeed fly around. The Karnataka State Cricket Association (KSCA) pitch in Bangalore, on which the West Indians played their tour pipe-opener, was low and slow. G Kasturirangan, the chairman of the BCCI's ground and wickets committee, was quoted in The Indian Express as admitting responsibility for the failure. But he added that the KSCA pitch was not prepared as per orders and specifications.

Although the formula applied in the reconstruction has been the same at all ten venues, that doesn't mean the relaid tracks will be identical. As Kasturirangan explained to Wisden.com, the topmost layer – clay – varies from centre to centre. "That makes a difference. The clay percentage of soil on Australian wickets, for example, is 83%, while the nearest to that in India is Kolkata, which has 80%." Kasturi and his team will monitor how the new tracks shape up, and take the best as a hallmark against which to fine-tune the other pitches.

The BCCI's mindset change makes one thing very clear: the days of below-average spinners turning demonic on doctored dustbowls are history. Since freshly laid pitches take between six months and a year to settle down, the forthcoming series may give us a fair indicator about the new tracks. Since the corrective measures aim at generating speed and lift, teams with a quality pace attack are certain to nullify the traditional home advantage that India enjoyed over the years. For a while, it may be home away from home for many teams touring India. That's the price that Indian cricket must be prepared to pay.

It will be too easy to fail to appreciate the long-term benefits and pillory players who might be struggling for runs and wickets on the new pitches. Batting will be a completely different ball-game if the relaid wickets afford the expected bounce and pace. It's one thing to play shots with abandon on pitches where the ball rarely climbs over the knee-roll – little risk of injury there – and quite something else when missiles fly consistently towards the chest a good 10mph faster than they did on those old batsman-friendly roads. It's a huge adjustment to make, both in terms of technique and temperament.

H Natarajan is senior editor of Wisden Asia Cricket.

© Wisden CricInfo Ltd