John Mooney appointed as Afghanistan’s fielding coach as he returns to the coaching set-up after a 6-year hiatus.
After a six-year hiatus, former Ireland international John Mooney rejoins the Afghanistan national team. The Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) declared on Wednesday, August 27, that Mooney has been named the new fielding coach for their national squad.
After Shane McDermott left the position, Mooney, who worked with Afghanistan from 2018 to 2019, was brought on board. As fielding coach, McDermott is now leading the Pakistani cricket team.
Mooney has played for Ireland in 91 international matches, including two ICC Men’s T20 World Cups and three ICC Cricket World Cups in 2007, 2011, and 2015. The England & Wales Cricket Board has awarded him Level 3, 2, and 1 Coaching Certificates.
In addition to Afghanistan, Mooney has been involved with the West Indies in 2019 and the Ireland women’s team since January.
Nirmalan Thanabalasingam, an Australian, has also been hired by the ACB as their new physiotherapist.
Thanabalasingam has a strong professional and academic background in sports science and physiotherapy. After earning a Bachelor of Applied Science in Exercise and Sports Science from the University of Sydney in 2008, he went on to get a Master of Physiotherapy in 2010. He is an active member of the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA) and a registered practitioner with the Physiotherapy Board of Australia.
Sports injury treatment and exercise-based rehabilitation are two areas in which Thanabalasingam is quite interested. He has been employed at Concord Sports Medicine since 2018 as the Senior Physiotherapist. Additionally, since 2020, he has served as the Desert Vipers’ team physiotherapist in the International League T20 (ILT20).
Thanabalasingam previously served as Sri Lanka Cricket’s High Performance Training & Rehabilitation Manager from March 2017 to June 2018. His work with Cricket NSW, Rangpur Riders (BPL), Montreal Tigers (GT20-Canada), ICC World XI, Sydney Thunder (BBL), and the West Harbour Rugby Union Club are just a few of his many experiences in the top tiers of elite sport.