Kabul, 27 August 2025:
Afghanistan have brought back former Ireland allrounder John Mooney as fielding coach and named Nirmalan Thanabalasingam as physiotherapist ahead of a busy T20 schedule.
Both have joined the squad’s training camp in Abu Dhabi before the T20 tri-series in the United Arab Emirates from 29 August, featuring Pakistan, and the men’s Asia Cup starting 9 September.
Mooney, 43, previously worked as Afghanistan’s fielding coach from 2018 to 2019, a spell that included the team’s Test debut in India. He also held roles with the West Indies men’s side in 2019 and most recently served as a temporary coach for Ireland’s women’s team.
A left-handed batter and right-arm seamer, Mooney played 64 one-day internationals and 27 T20s for Ireland from 2006 to 2015, including three ODI World Cups and two T20 World Cups. He hit the winning runs in Ireland’s famous victory over England at the 2011 World Cup in Bengaluru. Mooney retired later that year and has since earned Level 1, 2 and 3 coaching certificates from the England and Wales Cricket Board.
Thanabalasingam has been physiotherapist for Desert Vipers in the ILT20 since 2020. He previously served as high-performance training and rehabilitation manager for Sri Lanka Cricket and has also worked with Cricket New South Wales, Rangpur Riders, Montreal Tigers, ICC World XI, Sydney Thunder and West Harbour Rugby Union Club.
Afghanistan remain in camp in Abu Dhabi to prepare for their upcoming assignments.
