By Qaiser Mohammad Ali
IANS
Dhaka : Bangladesh coach Dav Whatmore Saturday regretted captain Habibul Bashar's decision to invite India to bat first in the second and final Test here. India ended the day at 326 without loss.
"There is a reason to regret. Obviously, if we would have known that the wicket was going to behave like that, then we would not have elected to field first," Whatmore told reporters after the first day's play.
"We knew what the conditions were over head but not on the ground. But we thought it would be a little bit more advantageous bowling first in the first session. It wasn't. It didn't work out," said the Sri Lanka born former Australian Test player.
Asked if there was any home advantage for his team, Whatmore said: "Maybe, if we had batted first. It was very difficult conditions, very trying conditions for players from both the teams."
Due to the heat and humidity, centurion Wasim Jaffer (138) and Dinesh Karthik (82) got cramps and had to retire.
Whatmore, however, refrained from commenting on the issue of scheduling the international calendar.
"It is easier to make a comment now. Again it comes back to the scheduling issue. You try and get the games with other countries," he said.
"It is a very tight schedule … not a lot of room to move in this calendar year. If India was to come to Bangladesh this year, this was the only time they had."