IPL 2026: Masterstroke of Delhi Capitals, Irish legend given big responsibility in coaching staff

John Mooney Joins Delhi Capitals Support Staff: Before the start of IPL 2026, all the teams are busy finalizing their preparations. Meanwhile, Delhi Capitals has taken an important decision and made a major change in its support staff. After missing the playoffs last season, the team does not want to leave any stone unturned this time.

Appointment of new fielding coach

Delhi Capitals has appointed former Ireland cricketer John Mooney as their new fielding coach for IPL 2026. Mooney will soon join the team camp and start working with the players. This will be the first time that he will work with any franchise in IPL.

The team will field with a strong coaching staff

Delhi Capitals has also strengthened its coaching staff for this season. Hemang Badani is responsible for the head coach of the team, while Munaf Patel is associated with the team as the bowling coach. Apart from this, former England batsman Ian Bell is playing the role of assistant coach. Venugopal Rao is handling the responsibility as team director.

Will benefit from international experience

John Mooney has played international cricket for Ireland in ODI and T20 formats and played his last match in 2015. After this he entered the world of coaching and was the fielding coach of the Afghanistan cricket team during 2018-19. He has also worked with the West Indies cricket team. In such a situation, his experience can prove to be very beneficial for the Delhi team.

Trying to overcome the shortcomings of last season

Delhi Capitals missed the playoffs by a narrow margin in the last IPL season and finished fifth. The team’s fielding was also under question on many occasions. In such a situation, Mooney’s appointment is being seen as a big step to remove the weaknesses of the team.

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When will the first match be played?

Delhi Capitals will start their campaign in IPL 2026 against Lucknow Super Giants on April 1. This match will be played at Ekana Cricket Stadium in Lucknow. Now it will be interesting to see how Delhi Capitals performs this season with the new coaching setup and whether they are able to make it to the playoffs.