[Sohel]

Of the names being mentioned in this thread, including that of one Enamul* Haque Bijoy, only Mohammad Mit'hun Ali is a worse keeper than our Mit'hu from what I've seen. Then again, what do I know about what I'm looking at compared to some.

Good wicket keeping in my ignorant opinion is about sustained focus, lateral footwork and the proper positioning of the gloves in relation to the anticipated delivery. Natural attributes such as sharp reflex, agility and range (height) obviously help those basics and can make someone a great wicket keeper like Gilly and others.

Mit'hu has issues sustaining his focus when keeping close to the stumps when the spinners are on. The fact that his lateral movement is poor in relation to the movement of the ball and he often finds his gloves at an odd angle, makes him spill quite a bit. One would assume that an international keeper with such a diminutive physique, and therefore very little natural range, would rely on lateral footwork compensate. Then again, one assumes wrong when it comes to many of our players.

Dhiman, Sohan, Pavel, Liton and Shahin are all significantly better full time wicket keepers than Mit'hu from what I've seen with my ignorant eyes, and none of them other than Pavel, who makes Omi's atrociously unstable batting technique look as graceful as Amla's, are lacking with the bat. Sohan, according to many, has genuine batting ability. The same was said of Dhiman and he did well enough to pretty much cement his place in the national team before the ICL drama, and his shortsighted comments at that time, drove him out of favor. I'm not sure how well a talent like Sohan will do at the highest level when he's ready but will take Richard's word for it without hesitation. Neither Liton, also a young prospect, nor Shahin is as talented but each has good temperament.

Mit'hu is easily the best batsman we have amongst our wicket keepers, and is one of the best batsmen we have. I agree with Shuja Bhai in the sense that I believe being only a specialist batsman may greatly help his cause with the willow. Everybody here knows what I think of his on field captaincy, so I won't go into that again.

*The "A" was widely reported as a typically careless clerical error at the passport office Bijoy and his entire family has issues with.