John Mooney is the new fielding coach of Delhi Capitals in the Indian Premier League after successful spells with Afghanistan and West Indies.

He becomes the first person from Ireland to be part of an IPL franchise’s coaching staff.

One of the failings of Cricket Ireland in recent years has been its failure to utilise the skills of its former internationals. Poor catching and fielding was a significant factor in Ireland’s early exit at recent male and female world cups.

Mooney is the fourth senior experienced cap currently coaching abroad, along with Kevin O’Brien (Italy), Ed Joyce (Gloucestershire) and William Porterfield (Lancashire). The former North County all-rounder played 182 times for Ireland between 2001 and 2015, featuring in three ODI World Cups and two World T20s.

The Delhi Capitals also own sides in the ILT20 in the UAE, and the SA20 in South Africa, so Mooney’s skills could be widely used during his year-long contract with the franchise.

The tournament will feature 10 teams competing in 84 matches from March 28  to May 31. The Capitals’ first game is on April 1 at the Lucknow Super Giants whose Australian star, Josh Inglis, is the highest-paid player in the league, earning around €800,000 for two months’ work.

Mooney will work alongside head coach Hemang Badani, bowling coach Munaf Patel, assistant coach Ian Bell, and director of cricket Venugopal Rao during the IPL. Badani is among the lowest earning head coaches at €140,000.