England spinners treated as third class citizens; stand no chance against India, says Graeme Swann

India play England in a 5-match series with the first Test starting on November 9 in Rajkot.

New Delhi: Former England spinner Grame Swann has given his prediction for the 5-match Test series in India.

Swann, who was instrumental in England's 2-1 series win in India in 2012, believes that his side stand no chance of repeating the result against this Indian squad.

Swann along with Monty Panesar were extremely successful spin duo for England but the former believes that the system played no role in their success.

"Me and Monty were freaks of nature, we grew up in Northants where the pitches used to rag square, but I moved [to Nottinghamshire] because I wanted to become a better bowler on non-turning pitches," Swann said during the launch of BT Sport's cricket coverage.

"We don't take spin seriously in this country, and then bemoan the fact that we haven't got world-class spinners when we go to the subcontinent."

"We've got a bloody good team with bloody good cricketers, but we will lose in India because of what has happened 20 years before. We are hamstrung by the fact that we treat spinners as third-class citizens."

"There is no sort of system in place to provide the backing that spinners need," he said. "From the day they arrive in county cricket to the day they play in Tests, it's not there. It is for batting, for bowlers, for fielding, for fitness, for nutrition … but not for spin bowling. And because of that, we are bad players of spin. It's a whole melting pot."

"I don't think we've got a cat in hell's chance, seeing how [Ravi] Ashwin and [Ravi] Jadeja bowl," he said. "Jadeja doesn't spin the ball, he doesn't try to. He just bowls straight and lets Ashwin do the work. Ashwin isn't a massive turner of the ball, he rarely bowls his carrom ball, but he's very, very accurate. Every Test in India he goes into, he believes he's going to win it."

Swann, was one of the most prolific bowlers for Three Lions, claiming 255 wickets in 60 Tests.