Vishal Kaith

Vishal Kaith
Personal information
Full name	Vishal Kaith
Date of birth	22 July 1996 (age 25)
Place of birth	Rohru, India
Height	1.88 m (6 ft 2 in)
Position(s)	Goalkeeper
Club information
Current team	Chennaiyin
Number	13
Youth career
2011–2014	AIFF Elite Academy
Senior career*
Years	Team
2014–2017	Shillong Lajong
2016	→ Pune City (loan)
2017–2019	Pune City
2019–	Chennaiyin
National team‡
2013–2016	India U19
2017	India U23
2018–	India
Honours
Representing India
SAFF Championship
	* Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 4 December 2021; ‡ National team caps and goals correct as of 15 September 2018

Vishal Kaith (born 22 July 1996) is an Indian footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for Indian Super League club Chennaiyin.

Youth years[]

Having come up through the state level ranks for Himachal Pradesh, he was recruited by the AIFF to play for the under-16 and under-19 national sides before joining the AIFF Elite Academy in 2011 to play under-19 national league, before being picked up by Shillong Lajong.^[1]

Club career[]

Shillong Lajong[]

Vishal Kaith joined Shillong Lajong after spending a year at the AIFF Elite Academy in 2014 and made his official debut in the second game of his teams' 2014-15 Indian Federation Cup against Salgaocar and was adjudged as the Man of the Match.^[2] Kaith would go on to obtain the Man of the Match award in his second first team appearance against Mohun Bagan.^[3]

Kaith made his senior I-League debut on 28 March 2015 against Sporting Goa but was sent off in the 2nd-half for a handball outside the box.^[4] He saved penalty which was taken by Sunil Chettri against Bengaluru in Federation Cup. Kaith showed good progress in pre-season for the new season and he became a pivotal part of the club and started all matches for Lajong in 2015-16 I-League season.

Under the guidance of Thangboi Singto, Kaith became the first choice goalkeeper for Shillong Lajong in entire season. He started in all matches and kept half a dozen important clean sheets.

Pune City (loan)[]

On 25 May 2016, Indian Super League club Pune City signed Kaith on loan from Shillong Lajong for the third edition of league where he would be a squad 'keeper and would make no appearances during the season.

Chennaiyin[]

On August 31 2019, Vishal Kaith signed for Chennaiyin on a long-term permanent deal with the club after spending the previous three seasons at Pune City.

International career[]

Youth[]

Kaith was handed his India U19 debut on 4 October 2013 against Qatar U19 in 2014 AFC U-19 Championship Qualifiers. Kaith kept first clean sheet for India U19 against Nepal U19, in which India U19 defeated Nepal U19 by 1-0. In July 2017, Kaith represented India U23 in AFC U23 Championship Qualifiers which held in Qatar.

Senior[]

Kaith was called for India team camp before AFC Asian Cup Qualifiers match against Kyrgyzstan on 13 June.

Style of play[]

Kaith is a talented, complete, aggressive, and often instinctive goalkeeper, who is recognised for his reflexes, prowess, and anticipation when coming off his line in one on one situations, as well as his confidence, goalkeeping technique, reactions, and ability to get to ground quickly to collect, parry, or even challenge for the ball with his feet; when playing in teams that rely upon high defensive lines, he has often functioned as a sweeper-keeper, frequently rushing out of his area to clear the ball or face opponents who have beaten the offside trap.

Career statistics[]

As of 4 December 2021^[5]

Club	Season	League			Cup		AFC		Total
Club	Season	Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Shillong Lajong	2014–15	I-League	1	0	3	0	0	0	4	0
	2015–16		15	0	0	0	0	0	15	0
	2016–17		18	0	2	0	0	0	20	0
	Shillong Lajong total		34	0	5	0	0	0	39	0
Pune City (loan)	2016	Indian Super League	0	0	—	—	—	—	0	0
Pune City	2017–18		17	0	1	0	0	0	18	0
	2018–19		4	0	1	0	0	0	5	0
	Pune City total		21	0	2	0	0	0	23	0
Chennaiyin	2019–20	Indian Super League	20	0	0	0	0	0	20	0
	2020-21		20	0	0	0	0	0	20	0
	2021-22		3	0	0	0	0	0	3	0
	Chennaiyin total		43	0	0	0	0	0	43	0
Career total			98	0	7	0	0	0	105	0

Honours[]

International[]

India[]

SAFF Championship: 2021

References[]

^ ^a ^b "Shillong Lajong FC - Official Website - Vishal Kaith". Shillonglajong.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
^ Press Trust of India (31 December 2014). "Salgaocar FC edge past Shillong Lajong 2-1". Business-standard.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
^ Gupta Vishal (6 January 2015). "Impressive Mohun Bagan finish their campaign with 1-0 win over Shillong Lajong". Sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.
^ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
^ "India - V. Kaith - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". Int.soccerway.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.

[shillonglajong.com-1] "Shillong Lajong FC - Official Website - Vishal Kaith". Shillonglajong.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.

[2] Press Trust of India (31 December 2014). "Salgaocar FC edge past Shillong Lajong 2-1". Business-standard.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.

[3] Gupta Vishal (6 January 2015). "Impressive Mohun Bagan finish their campaign with 1-0 win over Shillong Lajong". Sportskeeda.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.

[4] "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2 April 2015. Retrieved 29 March 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)

[5] "India - V. Kaith - Profile with news, career statistics and history - Soccerway". Int.soccerway.com. Archived from the original on 16 February 2015. Retrieved 16 February 2015.

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