IPL 2026 - John Mooney named Delhi Capitals' fielding coach

John Mooney becomes the first from Ireland to be part of an IPL franchise's coaching staff

ESPNcricinfo staff

Published: Mar 19, 2026, 8:09 AM (4 hrs ago)

Former Ireland allrounder John Mooney has been named the new fielding coach of Delhi Capitals (DC) for the upcoming IPL 2026 season. He becomes the first person from Ireland to be part of an IPL franchise's coaching staff.

Mooney takes over from Gnaneswara Rao and Anton Roux, who served in the role last season, and joins a support team led by head coach Hemang Badani, with Munaf Patel as bowling coach, Ian Bell as assistant coach, and Venugopal Rao as director of cricket.

Mooney brings a wealth of coaching experience, having previously served as the fielding coach for Afghanistan from 2018 to 2019, a period that included the team's historic Test debut in India. He 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.

During his playing days, Mooney was a left‑hand batter and right‑arm fast bowler, and represented Ireland in 64 ODIs and 27 T20Is between 2006 and 2015. He featured in three ODI World Cups (2007, 2011 and 2015) and two T20 World Cups (2009 and 2010).

After retiring from international cricket in 2015, Mooney completed Level 1, 2 and 3 coaching certifications from the England and Wales Cricket Board.

DC, who have never won the IPL, finished fifth on the points table last season to miss out on a playoff spot.

Click here to read article