MADIKERI: Former India bowling coach Team India pacer Venkatesh Prasad on Tuesday said the main reason for the country not producing enough quality fast bowlers was that Indian wickets offer little help to speedsters.

Speaking to reporters during a visit to this hilly town in Kodagu district, he said however, more than bowling fast, bowling intelligently was important. “Budding speedsters should realise this”, he added.

“How long can a bowler bowl at 130 to 140 KMPH on flat pitches we find in most places in India,” he said.

He said the skill to prepare pitches was also important and there should be a better set up to train groundsmen to prepare lively pitches in the country.

While coaching was mainly focused on honing the skills of a player, there was a lack of proper set up to train curators, he felt.

 Asked what stopped India from preparing proper pitches, he said “there could be many reasons.” “While pitches are one of the factors to produce fast bowlers, we should also ensure better physical fitness among the aspiring to become fast bowlers. Indians are definitely not as strong as Australians and to a certain degree even Pakistanis.”