Debjit Majumder

Debjit Majumder

The Mohun Bagan first-choice keeper, who played key roles in the club's winning the I-League and Federation Cup in the past two seasons, has been waiting for a long time to get an opportunity to prove himself on a different platform.

The 28 year old spring-footed custodian has had a long struggle to reach where he is today. After playing for Kalighat and United Sikkim he got signed by East Bengal in 2011, but the season wasn't great for him with few chances to appear in the I-League. Next season, he had no takers in the top division, and had to play for Bhawanipore in the second division and CFL. Finally, in 2014, he got picked up by Bagan and his career turned around. 

After being judged the best goalkeeper in I-League during 2014-15 he was loaned out by Mumbai City FC for ISL 2015. But unfortunately he was there along with Subrata Paul so the veteran keeper remained the first choice, and Debjit got to play in only 2 games. His sub-par luck with opportunities continued when during the I-League 2015-16 he was called up to the national team for a game; but unfortunately Mohun Bagan were scheduled to play a match during international break and with fellow keeper Shilton Paul out with an injury, he was asked by the club officials to ignore that call-up and play for the club and he did that. Although there was little chance for him to actually play for India during that one match, the non-show didn't go down well with the national team coach.

But finally, it seems, that Debjit will be a first-choice keeper for an ISL team. The other Indian keeper in ATK is Shilton Paul, and Debjit is without doubt a better custodian. Although veteran Spanish keeper Dani Mallo is in the squad, there's a good chance Debjit will get to start more often than not due to ISL teams' tendency to use Indian keepers. A few good games during this ISL will establish Debjit as one of the top keepers in the country and may even get him back into the national camp.