Dhiman Ghosh

[Sohel]

I watched Dhiman Ghosh closely and with great interest during the recently concluded Dhaka versus Chittagong yawner that turned thrilling in the NCL. The ‘experienced’ young man from Dinajpur now playing for Chittagong was boosted by back to back 100s with the Academy in Australia and a great NCL season last year, continued his good form. He got robbed today as a worse than Asoka-like caught behind decision from a local umpire ended his otherwise promising innings. Believe it or not, the BTV replay clearly showed that the ball didn’t carry and clearly hit the grass before being scooped up by Anwar’s gloves. There are no third umpire referrals in the NCL and Anwar, perhaps an ArZentina fan in world soccer, had no problems faking it. Maybe he “really thought” he gloved it, wink wink.

As a keeper, he’s both extremely acrobatic and plays the angles correctly with his whole body much like Adam Gilchrist and Andy Flower, or good a stand-up ice-hockey goalie like Grant Fuhr or Dominik Hasek, minimizing possibilities of unforced byes and other wicket-keeping errors. Like Mushfiqur Rahim, our justifiably number one keeper, he’s also lively and clever behind the stumps. Mushy probably has a slight edge in stumpings with his fast little hands second only to Pilot’s.

Overall a better keeper than Mushfiqur Rahim in my humble opinion, Dhiman's footwork and defensive technique with the bat still leave a lot to be desired when compared to the man he hopes to replace behind the stumps one of these days. A tall batsman by Bangladeshi standards, his “stand-up straight” batting stance often does not allow him adequate time to adjust to dipping deliveries as his feet stay glued a foot outside the line of delivery. But anything loose and high, he will put away with spectacular authority, usually bulleting over the covers, square leg or mid-wicket. His back-foot drives are good to look at and he also plays the cut shot late enough. A good rotator of the strike with a soft bottom hand, he also understands that one does not need a high backlift to generate power especially against quicker bowlers. Against slower bowlers, he judges flight and turn extremely well.

I will go ahead and rate him on a scale of 5 with 5 being “excellent” by international standards, 4 being “good”, 3 being “decent”, 2 being “average”, 1 being “below average”, and 1 being “crap”.

If I give Dhiman Ghosh, the keeper a 4.5 out of 5 with Pilot leading the list with say, 4.75, I’d give Mushy with his fast hands an ever-improving 4.0 in that scale. Shahin Hossain still leads him with 4.25, and Saghir Hossain Pavel trails him with 3.75 respectively. All others are 3 or below from what I’ve seen.

Batting wise, I’d give Dhiman 3.0 out of 5 with Mushy leading the list with 3.25. I’d give Jahirul Islam a 3.0 also, Pavel a 2.75, Pilot a 2.25, and with all others below 2, including the hugely overrated Anwar.

So it’s no big surprise that Mushfiqur Rahim remains my easy first choice keeper for Bangladesh, a team tragically lacking in well-tempered, technically proficient batsmen.

[samircreep]

Sohel, good analysis of Dhiman. I'm sure you remember that Dhiman's been touted as a successor to Pilot for a while now, so no surprise that BCB has invested in him so heavily. I was wondering though why you rated Mushfiq so highly as a keeper. According to me at least, his keeping as crap to put it bluntly...

[Sohel]

Originally Posted by samircreep
Sohel, good analysis of Dhiman. I'm sure you remember that Dhiman's been touted as a successor to Pilot for a while now, so no surprise that BCB has invested in him so heavily. I was wondering though why you rated Mushfiq so highly as a keeper. According to me at least, his keeping as crap to put it bluntly...

Contrary to some popular wisdom here in Dhaka, I've always rated Dhiman as the better keeper and Mushy the more technically compact batsmen. Many people, often without actually seeing him in action, think of the situation to be the other way around.

Although Mushy has closed the keeping gap dramatically, Dhiman continues to falter with certain types of deliveries because of his unusual batting stance plus so-so defensive footwork, and comparatively (to Mushy's) slower hand-eye coordination. But his temperament as a batsman has improved by leaps and bounds over the last 2 years.

Mushy has remarkably fast hands, good presence of mind and with that low center of gravity, he rarely misses catches or stumping opportunities nowadays. He is a significantly better keeper than Akmal or Dhoni, but far behind Gilly (5), Boucher (5), Sanga (4.75), McCullum (4.5) and Ramdin (4.5). But the boy's young and pretty much all cricket and I see him surpassing McCullum, Ramdin and most other international keepers in 3 to 5 years maximum. He has demostrated a great ability to learn and I have confidence in him.

His positional play led to some serious unforced errors in the past with regards to containing byes and a few run-out opportunities where he was caught in compromising positions, but I've seen him improve a great deal in that area during the T20 WC with the sole exception of the one really bad match he had behind the stumps. I've also spoken to quite a few generally critical but fair-minded people who have seen him in NCL action this year, and they too say that he has exponentially improved his positional play.

[WarWolf]

This is a long awaited healthy competition for the place of the wicket weeker. I have seen Dhiman in action being present in the field and I would rate him as the best keeper in the country at the moment. Though Mushy is improving really quick as a keeper, he has certain weeknesses behind the stamps. Specially when he stands up right behind the stamps, he has a tendency to drop catches or miss stamping chances.

Height is a good positive factor for Dhiman. For this reason he can cover a longer range in his both sides. As all of these keepers are keen to develop their keeping ability we will soon have a good flow of stand by keepers with top international standards.

[AsifTheManRahman]

I haven't checked the NCL scores from last night yet, but my initial impression reading the thread title was "Oh no, not another one of those 'Mr. X scored a 50 so Mr. X deserves to be in the national team' threads"...but I must say that this is some top notch analysis. I've read so much about Dhiman (McInnes' posts here in BC, newspapers and what not), but haven't ever had the priviledge of watching him live, so this gives me a clear idea of where he stands compared to the other keepers in the country.

Good stuff.

[akabir77]

another shohel_NR bhai'r super star in rising naki? daran poira nai agey...

[akabir77]

Jokes aside good work S_NR B. I think after reading this I will change my selectors team and put Mushi in for Pilot.

[al Furqaan]

asif bhai, this thread goes furhter than just comparing dhiman (and mushy) to the other keepers in the country, it compares them to other keepers around the globe.

fantastic efforts from sohel bhai. his analysis and zeal are something BC cannot do without.

[Kabir]

All I can say is, WISH HE WAS A BETTER BATSMAN!

Nice writeup Sohel bhai.

[zainab]

Mushy is my top favourite in the BD team. He is a good cricketer, and after watching him since the World Cup, feels that he has improved considerably. His only setback is his height, but he has learnt to jump in the air. He can anticipate the bowler's deliveries, he is always attentive and quite a chirpy little fella. He gels well with the current team. It takes years to become a very good wicket keeper and this comes with playing more and more matches. Boucher, Sangakkara and Gilchrist have been keeping wicket for years.
He is slow with the bat, but has a good head on his shoulders.

[akabir77]

MARK MY WORD

Pilot is going as a TEST keeper...

Disclaimer: I am neither a Pilot Fan nor a Mushi hater...

[Sohel]

More pointless ratings, other international WKs I've seen ...

1. P Jayawerdena (WK-5, B-4.0).

2. G Jones (WK-4.5, B-3.75).

3. B Haddin (WK-4.75, B-4.5).

4. U Tharanga (WK- 4.25, B-4.0).

5. T Taibu (WK-4.5, B-4.0).

6. P Nixon (WK-4.5, B-3.75).

7. AB Devilliers (WK-4.25, B-4.0)

8. A Flower (ret) (WK-4.5, B-5).

[Nocturnal]

very good read Sohel bhai.

[Sohel]

Originally Posted by Nocturnal
very good read Sohel bhai.

Thanks bro ...

[Gowza]

imo a batsmens technique doesn't matter too much as long as they keep scoring runs. but a question about jahurul, does anyone think he should maybe drop wicketkeeping and focus on becoming a specialist opener? if his keeping really is that bad it could be seen as a liability in 2 ways, one being that his glove work isn't good enough for him to keep wicket for the national team and the other being that he could be more of a liability in the field if he isn't behind the stumps. he's done pretty well this season with the bat, maybe he'd have a better chance of playing international cricket if he focused on his batting, especially if BD continue to have problems with finding a good pair of opening batsmen.

[Gowza]

Originally Posted by Nocturnal
very good read Sohel bhai.

agreed, i'm liking this thread a lot.

[Bengaliprince176]

seems like this is another case of stumper versus stopper??

a bit harsh on Mushy as he is a good keeper, but it looks like BD going for a wicketkeeper who can get runs but isnt the number 1 keeper. which seems silly to me, if this is the case

[Kabir]

Originally Posted by Bengaliprince176
a bit harsh on Mushy as he is a good keeper, but it looks like BD going for a wicketkeeper who can get runs but isnt the number 1 keeper. which seems silly to me, if this is the case

Bro, actually it's not silly. You have to look at it under the current circumstances. Our team doesn't have a batsman who we can rely on completely. They struggle in the middle due to their lack of mental strenth. Mushy adds just that to the team - a wicket keeper who can bat as well. In fact, he's one of those very few batsmen who can adjust himself anywhere in the lineup, specially at #3 and #6 spot.

It's true that we can't compare runs against wickets for a wicket keeper, but in our team, a batsman's scoring ability weighs more.

[akabir77]

Originally Posted by Bengaliprince176
seems like this is another case of stumper versus stopper??

a bit harsh on Mushy as he is a good keeper, but it looks like BD going for a wicketkeeper who can get runs but isnt the number 1 keeper. which seems silly to me, if this is the case

Number one keeper is Pilot. but batsman keeper number one is Mushi...

[Bengaliprince176]

Originally Posted by Kabir
Bro, actually it's not silly. You have to look at it under the current circumstances. Our team doesn't have a batsman who we can rely on completely. They struggle in the middle due to their lack of mental strenth. Mushy adds just that to the team - a wicket keeper who can bat as well. In fact, he's one of those very few batsmen who can adjust himself anywhere in the lineup, specially at #3 and #6 spot.

It's true that we can't compare runs against wickets for a wicket keeper, but in our team, a batsman's scoring ability weighs more.

fair point kabir bro, i shud have taken that into consideration, Mushy is still young as is Dhiman, both have bags of talent and can improve, coming from a bolwers point of view i find it so frustrating when keepers drop catches off my bowling or let byes through etc, we saw in the India Pak game, Akmal dropped Ganguly first ball (hehehehe) and Ganguly made him pay as the new ball threat was stopped, the standard fell immediately and it cud have made the difference. i remember one 20/20 game, Mushy dropped a ctahc and missed a run out, and it was a game, which cud have easily gone BDs way. but mistakes will always be made, whichever route slectors choose, im sure they have valid reason and its best for BD

[Gowza]

rahim scores a bit too slow to bat any lower than 4 in one-dayers for my liking. the #5 and #6 batsmen need to be able to up the run rate when needed. if rahim is going to be an important part of the one-day batting line-up it has to be as the anchor batsman in which case he really needs to bat no lower than #4. in test matches he can bat lower down because the strike rate doesn't matter as much.

[Murad]

Originally Posted by Gowza
rahim scores a bit too slow to bat any lower than 4 in one-dayers for my liking. the #5 and #6 batsmen need to be able to up the run rate when needed. if rahim is going to be an important part of the one-day batting line-up it has to be as the anchor batsman in which case he really needs to bat no lower than #4. in test matches he can bat lower down because the strike rate doesn't matter as much.

Well said, Gowza! Spot On.

[wrong `un]

Rahim's batting technique and temerament is quite good and is a must in test matches now.

But he has been a rubbish ODI player till now. A batsmen with SR in the low 50s should never play ODIs or T20. These are the players who will never win us matches unless the opposition scores below 200 which is a rarity in ODIs these days.

Unless they grow the ability to rotate strike and score an odd boundary every couple of evers, Mashud, Mushfiqur, Rajin, Javed and Mehrab Jr should never play ODI and T20 matches for Bangladesh.

Dhiman in the man for ODIs and T20s and sooner the selectors realize the better it is for Bangladesh.

[wrong `un]

Originally Posted by Gowza
rahim scores a bit too slow to bat any lower than 4 in one-dayers for my liking. the #5 and #6 batsmen need to be able to up the run rate when needed. if rahim is going to be an important part of the one-day batting line-up it has to be as the anchor batsman in which case he really needs to bat no lower than #4. in test matches he can bat lower down because the strike rate doesn't matter as much.

If we want to build a winnng ODI team a batsmen who has a SR in low 50s will only harm us. Doesn't matter if he bats at 3 or 4 or 6 or 7.

You will not find a top 7 batsmen in the other international teams who has a SR below 60. The norm is to have a minimum SR of 70. Even slow and solid players like Rahul Dravid has SR over 70.

[Gowza]

Originally Posted by wrong `un
If we want to build a winnng ODI team a batsmen who has a SR in low 50s will only harm us. Doesn't matter if he bats at 3 or 4 or 6 or 7.

You will not find a top 7 batsmen in the other international teams who has a SR below 60. The norm is to have a minimum SR of 70. Even slow and solid players like Rahul Dravid has SR over 70.

agree, but being that rahim has been the national keeper for the last few months including one-dayers and T20s i just thought i'd mention that if he was to be in the team batting any lower than #4 wouldn't be ideal.