Ahead of Asia Cup, Afghanistan appoints John Mooney as new fielding coach

Kabul, Aug 27 Ahead of 2025 Men’s T20 Asia Cup, the Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) has appointed former Ireland player John Mooney as its new fielding coach. ACB also announced the appointment of Australia’s Nirmalan Thanabalasingam as the side’s new physiotherapist.

Mooney, 43, played 91 international matches for Ireland, including featuring for the side in ODI World Cups in 2007, 2011, 2015 and two T20 World Cups. He holds multiple coaching certifications from the England and Wales Cricket Board and previously served as Afghanistan’s fielding coach from 2018 to 2019. He also had coaching stints with the West Indies men’s team and Ireland women’s team.

Meanwhile, Thanabalasingam, a registered practitioner with the Physiotherapy Board of Australia and an active member of the Australian Physiotherapy Association (APA), holds graduate and postgraduate qualifications in physiotherapy and sports science from the University of Sydney.

Since 2018, he has served as the Senior Physiotherapist at Concord Sports Medicine and has been the physiotherapist for the Desert Vipers in UAE’s ILT20. Previously, from March 2017 to June 2018, Thanabalasingam worked as the High Performance Training & Rehabilitation Manager for Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC).

He has also served in physiotherapy roles with Cricket NSW, Rangpur Riders (BPL), Montreal Tigers (GT20 – Canada), ICC World XI, Sydney Thunder (BBL), and the West Harbour Rugby Union Club.

ACB added that the duo have joined the national team for the ongoing training and preparation camp in Abu Dhabi, where Afghanistan are gearing up for playing in a T20I series involving Pakistan and hosts United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Sharjah, starting on Friday.

The tri-series is a big part of their preparation for the Asia Cup, where Afghanistan are placed alongside Bangladesh, Hong Kong and Sri Lanka. Afghanistan's campaign begins against Hong Kong in the tournament opener at the Sheikh Zayed International Stadium in Abu Dhabi on September 9.

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