Former Ireland international John Mooney has been appointed fielding coach of the Delhi Capitals for the 2026 Indian Premier League (IPL) season, the franchise announced Thursday. Mooney’s appointment marks a first for Irish cricket, making him the first person from Ireland to hold a coaching position within an IPL team.
Mooney joins a Delhi Capitals coaching staff led by head coach Hemang Badani. The team’s support team also includes Munaf Patel as bowling coach, Ian Bell as assistant coach, and Venugopal Rao as director of cricket, according to a statement released by the IPL.
The 44-year-old Mooney brings significant coaching experience to the role, having previously served as fielding coach for the Afghanistan national team from 2018 to 2019. This period included Afghanistan’s historic first Test match against India. He also held a coaching position with the West Indies men’s team in 2019 and had a short-term assignment with the Ireland women’s side last year.
As a player, Mooney represented Ireland in 64 One Day International (ODI) matches and 27 Twenty20 International (T20I) games between 2006 and 2015. He participated in three ODI World Cups – 2007, 2011, and 2015 – and two T20 World Cups in 2009 and 2010 before retiring from international cricket in 2015. Following his playing career, Mooney obtained Level 1, 2, and 3 coaching certifications from the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Delhi Capitals finished fifth in the IPL standings last season, falling short of a playoff berth. The team, captained by Axar Patel, is scheduled to begin its 2026 campaign on April 1 against the Lucknow Super Giants at the Ekana Stadium in Lucknow.
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