Nagpur, February 28:

Indian cricket captain Rahul Dravid does not believe in the adage that England’s batsmen are suspect against spin bowling, but he’s banking on his spinners to turn on the magic in the three-test series against the injury-hit English team.

The bald and brown pitch, devoid of any grass, appears tailor-made for Indian spinners to press their home advantage against England, and Dravid said England’s batsmen will find it difficult to negotiate spinners Anil Kumble and Harbhajan Singh.

“It’s difficult to play spinners of Anil and Harbhajan’s quality, but it’s unrealistic to think that any spinner can turn up and get England out,” Dravid said ahead of Wednesday’s opening test match in Nagpur. “I’m not convinced about the cliche that England can’t play spin, they’ve been doing well on tours to the subcontinent and played our spinners quite well in the last series in India,” Dravid said.

India’s chances of winning the home series have been boosted by the absence of England’s two most experienced batsman, Michael Vaughan and Marcus Trescothick, who have flown back home, denting England’s hopes of clinching its first Test series win on Indian soil in 21 years.

Trescothick returned because of personal reasons, while Vaughan on Tuesday joined Simon Jones on a flight to London — both sidelined by knee injuries.

England coach Duncan Fletcher on Tuesday challenged his young players to prove their mettle. “There are a few good opportunities for individuals, you never know what things can do to players,” he said. Despite the setbacks, Fletcher said his players’ morale was high.

We’d not beaten Australia for some time, but we managed to turn that around last summer. We believe we can do it here,” he said.

All-rounder Andrew Flintoff, with limited experience of captaincy, suddenly found himself in charge of the test team on Monday.

“Flintoff will have a tough task as he’s an all-rounder, but the important thing is that he’s very keen to do the job,” said Fletcher. “We believe he’s got the ability to lead the side efficiently.” England hasn’t won a test series in India since David Gower’s team won 2-1 in 1984-85.

Riding on the wave of the Ashes victory, skipper Vaughan was hoping to join Douglas Jardine, Tong Greig and Gower in the list of England captains who won test series in India. Then came the spate of injuries and Trescothick’s withdrawal that undermined the squad’s strength.

Dravid said England would be extremely competitive, irrespective of who’s in the side.

“England’s obviously had some bad luck,” Dravid said. “It’s unfortunate what’s happened to a few of their key players, but England must not be underestimated.”