While all eyes are on Vaibhav Sooryavanshi’s debut, there is set to be another interesting maiden cap handed out during the upcoming T20I series between India and Ireland with pacer Jai Moondra set to get his first taste of playing international cricket against the country he was born in.
The two teams will play two T20Is on Friday (June 26) and Sunday (June 28) at The Stormont in Belfast.
The 29-year-old has got a maiden call-up into the Ireland team for the two-match series, which will be the first assignment for the European side under new captain Loran Tucker with pacers Josh Little, Mark Adair, and Barry McCarthy injured.
Who Is Jai Moondra?
Moondra was born in the Indian city of Tonk, which is based in Rajasthan. It is a town based in the Tonk District and is just 95 KMs away from the state capital, Jaipur. From an early age, the player took up playing cricket and joined an academy. He was a top-order batter who could bowl spin till the age of 16 before becoming fast-bowler. However, he moved to Ireland in 2021 to pursue a master’s degree in electronics and communication.
Moondra decided to give cricket another chance after not taking a corporate job and gave another shot to his career as a cricketer.
“Then I chose to prioritise my studies and took a step back from cricket. I played casually for passion. In college, I started medium pace with a tennis ball, then eventually leather ball for my college cricket team. I started picking up pace and that excited me. I developed a love for fast bowling again. But after college in 2019, I thought my cricket journey would be over if I got a full-time corporate job. I wanted to give myself a last chance with cricket. So, I quit!,” said Moondra in a chat with Cricket Ireland.
After relocating to Ireland, Moondra started playing for the Leinster Cricket Club in Dublin and played a key role for their squad that won the Irish Senior Cup in 2023.
Moondra has played one first-class match in his career, which was last month for Raiders against Strikers in Dublin. He has played six List A and 5 T20Is in his career so far for Leinster and has 11 and 10 wickets so far.He is also a handy bat and scored a half-century in his first-class debut.
Moondra is a left-arm pacer and spoke about his skillset and called his angle as his strength.
“As a left-arm bowler, my angle is my strength. With the new ball, I try to use the swing, hit the pad, hit the stumps, and get a few across the batter. My intention is to not be predictable and try to get some edges. I want to be aggressive, put pressure on the batter, and make them uncomfortable in the hope that they make mistakes and create opportunities to get early wickets. Throughout the innings, I like to mix up my pace and use variations like slower balls and cutters. I try to see every ball as an opportunity to take a partnership apart. With the bat, I back myself to adapt to circumstances – whether I need to be aggressive or play a long, patient innings. My view is that flexibility is key,” said Moondra.
Moondra expressed gratitude towards Cricket Ireland for the opportunity and expressed excitement at the prospect of playing against the world champions.
“To play international cricket was always a dream. I’m really grateful to Cricket Ireland for giving me this opportunity. While I set goals for myself, I also focus on each game. I have targets, but I don’t get stressed about the future. I try to enjoy the moment – and that’s what I intend to do with the India series. I know it’s going to be a massive challenge – playing against India is another class of feeling, but to perform against one of the best teams in the world would be something special,” Moondra stated.