Kabul [Afghanistan], August 27 : Afghanistan have roped in former Ireland all-rounder John Mooney as their new fielding coach, and Nirmalan Thanabalasingam as the new physiotherapist ahead of the much-awaited Asia Cup, which will commence in a fortnight.
Mooney and Nirmalan have joined Afghanistan's camp for the ongoing training and preparation camp ahead of the T20I tri-series against the UAE and Pakistan, scheduled to kick off on August 29 and the Asia Cup, which will commence on September 9.
The former Irish all-rounder has served as Afghanistan's fielding coach from 2018 to 2019. It was the same period when Afghanistan made its Test debut in India. Mooney has also worked with the West Indies men's team and served as a temporary coach for the Ireland women's team since January this year.
During his playing days, 43-year-old Mooney was a left-arm batter and a right-arm quick. He played 64 ODIs and 27 T20Is for Ireland from 2006 to 2015, including appearances in three ODI World Cups (2007, 2011 and 2015) as well as two T20 World Cups (2009 and 2010).
He is still fondly known for hitting the winning runs for Ireland in their historic victory over England during the 2011 World Cup in Bengaluru. He pulled the curtains down on his career in 2015 and completed Level 3, 2, and 1 coaching certificates from the England Cricket Board.
Nirmalan, on the other hand, has been associated with Desert Vipers as a physiotherapist in the ILT20 since 2020. Previously, he had also served as the High-Performance Training and Rehabilitation Manager for Sri Lanka Cricket from March 2017 to June 2018. He also worked with Cricket New South Wales, Rangpur Riders (BPL), Montreal Tigers (GT20 Canada), ICC World XI, Sydney Thunder (BBL), and the West Harbour Rugby Union Club.
Currently, Afghanistan are undergoing a training and preparation camp in Abu Dhabi for their next two crucial assignments.
Afghanistan squad: Rashid Khan (c), Rahmanullah Gurbaz, Ibrahim Zadran, Darwish Rasooli, Sediqullah Atal, Azmatullah Omarzai, Karim Janat, Mohammad Nabi, Gulbadin Naib, Sharafuddin Ashraf, Mohammad Ishaq, Mujeeb Ur Rahman, Allah Ghazanfar, Noor Ahmad, Farid Malik, Naveen-ul-Haq, Fazalhaq Farooqi.
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