New Delhi: Ahead of the Indian Premier League (IPL) 2026, Delhi Capitals has roped in former Ireland player John Mooney as their fielding coach. Mooney becomes the first from Ireland to be part of an IPL franchise’s coaching staff.
The former Ireland all-rounder takes over from Gnaneswara Rao and Anton Roux, both of whom served in the same role in the last season. The ex-Ireland player will join the support staff team led by head coach Hemang Badani, with former Indian pacer Munaf Patel as bowling coach. Ian Bell would serve as the assistant coach and Venugopal Rao as director of cricket.
Mooney’s experience to benefit DC
As far as his experience is concerned, the Irish national bring a lot of coaching experience having previously served as the fielding coach for Afghanistan from 2018 to 2019. This period proved to be historic for the side as they made their debut in the longest format in India. Apart from this, Mooney also worked with the West Indies men’s team in 2019 and was a temporary coach for the Ireland women’s team earlier last year.
As a player for Ireland, Mooney was left-handed batter and a right-arm pacer who represented the national team in 64 ODI matches and 27 T20I games between 2006 and 2015. He also featured in three ODI World Cups (2007, 2011 and 2015) and two T20 World Cups (2009 and 2010). Mooney retired from international cricket back in 2015 and after quitting as a player, he completed Level 1, 2 and 3 coaching certifications from the England and Wales Cricket Board.
For the Capitals, who have never won an IPL trophy, Mooney’s inclusion in the coaching staff is being seen as a big boost. The DC side finished fifth on the points table last season in 2025, an edition which was won by the Royal Challengers Bengaluru after defeating Punjab Kings.