Spinner Graeme Swann's absence could pose problems for England in series against India: Kevin Pietersen

Ousted England batsman Kevin Pietersen believes the hosts would face a tough Test series at home against India without off-spinner Graeme Swann in their ranks.

Swann retired from international cricket last year, and Pietersen's view is that the selectors refusal to recall left-arm spinner Monty Panesar could prove costly in terms of results, reports Sport24.

Swann took 255 wickets in 60 Tests and was the mainstay of the England attack.

Pietersen also questioned skipper Alastair Cook's tactics during the recent series agaisnt Sri Lanka, which the home side lostin all formats.

Swann, he wrote in his column for the Daily Telegraph, was a bowler who could defend and attack in equal measure, and made Andrew Strauss and Cook's captaincy look good, by making crucial breakthroughs when the opposition were threatening to take the game away.

Pietersen said ndia would be helped by the fact that English pitches are no longer green enough for seamers to make a killing. He said the pitches have lost pace and increasingly resemble the kind of slow, low-bouncing surfaces found on the subcontinent.