SHILLONG: Between Vishal Kaith’s fourth and fifth India caps, there were 2,377 days of wait, resolution and ‘hard work’. It is the longest gap between two appearances for a player in Indian senior men’s team history.
The Indian custodian last featured for the national team during the 2018 SAFF Championship in Bangladesh, playing all four matches as India, participating with an U23 squad, finished runners-up. Incidentally, the final was a defeat to Maldives, the same opponents against whom Kaith made a comeback. But this time, it was a comfortable clean sheet in a 3-0 victory, with Kaith having to make just one save.
“It felt amazing to play after almost seven years. Goalkeeper is such a position that it’s difficult to find a place in the line-up,” 28-year-old said to Indian Football Team Media.
“I consider this match as my debut. We went to the 2018 SAFF Championship with an U23 team. I had never played with the seniors before, especially (Sunil) Chhetri bhai. So this feels different.
“When you don’t play, it is tough to take that. But if you keep working hard and give your hundred per cent in training, you will get your chance someday. And that day arrived for me on Wednesday (against Maldives). The motivation remained that I must keep doing my work and I will get the chance some time or the other,” Kaith added.
That 22-year-old Kaith, who was the number one goalkeeper in the 2018 SAFF Championship, has now transformed into a more mature figure, and one of the best in his position.
“I was much younger back then, I’m more mature now, with much more game experience. With time, you make fewer mistakes, and decision-making improves. The national team doesn’t play many matches in a year – there are mainly just qualifiers and friendlies – so it’s even more difficult to get minutes. You must continue to do well for your club in the league.”
In recent years, Kaith’s consistency on the domestic front has been remarkable. The Mohun Bagan Super Giant goalkeeper now has the most clean sheets in Indian Super League history at 54. He was the first one to reach the half-century after his shutout against Mohammedan Sporting in February this year. His outstanding performances in Green and Maroon have earned him two ISL Shields, an ISL Cup and a Durand Cup during his time in Kolkata. Individually, Kaith has an ISL Golden Glove from the 2022-23 season and is on course for another one with 14 clean sheets already in the bag for the current campaign.
“I can’t win a Golden Glove alone. It’s the effort of the entire team. They do well, so it makes the goalkeeper’s job easier. Even against Maldives, I barely had anything to do all game because we defended well. I try to give my best at Mohun Bagan, so I can keep improving,” said Kaith.
The Himachal-born goalkeeper spent 21 matches on the bench before getting a chance to be between the sticks for India again. But with two relatively senior goalkeepers like Gurpreet Singh Sandhu and Amrinder Singh, it was not about the fight or the competition for the starting spot, but about learning and continuing the hard work in training.
“With goalkeepers like Gurpreet paaji and Amrinder paaji regularly in the squad, getting minutes is tough. Mentally, you have got to be strong. There are three of us, but only one is going to play. It’s a position where continuity is preferred.
“Our relationship is wonderful. We are all from north India, so we’ve built a bond. We keep pushing each other. If one makes a mistake, the others support him. When I don’t get the chance to play, I try to learn from them by seeing what they’re doing right. Even though only one goalkeeper plays, we support each other fully during training,” Kaith concluded.
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