Assesing Pros and Cons of choosing Vishal Kaith as new India No 1

Vishal Kaith has 14 cleansheets in 23 games in ISL this season.

Vishal Kaith is arguably enjoying his best season with Mohun Bagan in the 2024-25 Indian Super League (ISL) campaign. The 28-year-old has managed to keep 14 clean sheets in 23 games, playing a key role in helping them clinch the ISL league shield championship.

Kaith is at the peak of his career right now. He is churning out clean sheets regularly, hardly making errors, and is a highly agile figure in his goal. The 28-year-old has proven himself an impressive commander in his box, maintaining a sturdy defensive record in the ISL.

The Mohun Bagan goalkeeper’s consistency and admirable form this season have caused serious calls for him to become the new No. 1 goalkeeper for the Indian national team. With Gurpreet Singh Sandhu excluded from the squad, the Mohun Bagan goalkeeper is now the odds-on favorite for the no.1 role.

The Blue Tigers kick off what will be a rigorous 2025 for them in the March international break. They will face the Maldives (19 March) in a friendly before the first 2027 AFC Asian Cup qualifier against Bangladesh (25 March).

Kaith is going to be picked in the squad. However, many supporters call for him to be picked as the starting goalkeeper over Amrinder Singh or Gurmeet Singh. Here, we look at the pros and cons of installing Kaith as the new India goalkeeper.

Pros of Vishal Kaith starting for Indian Football

Reliability factor

The most significant advantage to Kaith in the 2024-25 campaign is how reliable he has been in between the sticks for Mohun Bagan. The goalkeeper has rarely made mistakes, with his only error coming in the Mariners’ 3-2 win over Kerala Blasters at home. He was not as sloppy as Gurpreet Singh Sandhu, who has made several poor errors that caused Bengaluru FC to fall away from the ISL shield race.

Even Amrinder has been prone to mistakes, conceding double the goals (35 to Vishal’s 16) in the ISL this season. Kaith has been trustworthy in collecting crosses or making crucial clearances from set pieces. He has been stern with collecting all the dangerous shots and brilliant in at least parrying shots away far beyond the reach of opposition attackers.

Shot-stopping ability

The 28-year-old Mohun Bagan shot-stopper has earned all the clean sheets he has picked up this season simply because of his excellent reactions in the goal. Kaith worked hard during the off-season to further improve his ability to react better and determine how to shoot saves better in the goal. He has always been in the correct positions in the Mohun Bagan goal to frustrate opposition players with his excellent reflex saves.

He has been athletic in showcasing impressive reaction times with his saves, being able to cover great distances in a few seconds to save his side from trouble time and again this season. Kaith has made 67 saves in the 23 ISL games in the 2024-25 season. Only Amrinder (77) and Albino Gomes (83) have saved more shots on them, mainly because they have faced many more because their backline is not as sturdy as Mohun Bagan’s. Kaith has proven that he can be his team’s guardian angel by making clutch saves and will be able to maintain that at the international stages.

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High confidence and momentum levels

Manolo Marquez will prefer to pick players with high confidence levels for India’s next matches. He would, of course, look for the in-form players rather than giving chances to players based on the numbers they have boasted in the past. If one were to consider that, Kaith would be arguably the best goalkeeper he could choose. The 28-year-old is flying high on momentum after winning his second ISL league shield title with Mohun Bagan.

On top of that, he broke the ISL record for getting the most clean sheets in a single campaign after getting his 14th clean sheet. Kaith is showing much confidence with his playing style and is also able to maintain utmost focus in making crucial stops to deny goal-scoring chances time and again. He is definitely in sharper shape in terms of having more confidence than Gurmeet or Amrinder, who have had their share of issues this season. Kaith can bring that club form internationally because of his high confidence levels and add more sturdiness to India’s backline.

Cons

Experience factor

Vishal Kaith might be flying high on the domestic stage for Mohun Bagan, but the reality is that he has not tested his own on the international stage yet. The 28-year-old has only made four appearances for the Blue Tigers so far. That came in his outing in the 2018 SAFF Championship for India. He has not played for the Blue Tigers in the last six years. That means Kaith does not know how international players can test him, be it by swinging in more crosses into the box or being more unpredictable with their shooting.

Kaith really dwarves down in terms of international experience to Amrinder, who have made many more appearances than him. Kaith is more likely to get the jitters in key international matches when representing India than his senior goalkeepers. Despite his impressive form and shot-stopping qualities, his inexperience means Marquez would take a slight risk of preferring Kaith as the no.1.

Questions over passing ability

If there were some nitpicking over Vishal Kaith’s performances in the 2024-25 ISL season, it would be regarding his passing qualities. The 28-year-old has averaged 22 passes per game for Mohun Bagan, but he has not been the most accurate with his passing ability. He has only managed a 63% passing accuracy in the 23 matches, indicating that he misplaces 37 of every 100 attempted passes. This could be a concerning factor for Manolo Marquez, especially considering how he likes playing a slick, heavy passing buildup play.

Kaith has not been that convincing when making passes under pressure, often playing it straight to the opposition’s control or away for throw-ins. He has also been ineffective with goal-kicks or his attempts to kickstart counter-attacking chances. The modern goalkeeper must be prolific with their feet in moving the ball forward sharply and helping build better attacking moves with their passes.

Kaith has not been the most convincing in that aspect, and this could be a worrying sign for Marquez to consider when choosing his India goalkeeper.

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