Rajasthan’s Jai Moondra is making his international debut for Ireland today (June 26), after being named in the XI for the first T20I against India.
Who is Jai Moondra, Ireland's latest international debutant?
Born in Tonk, a town near Jaipur in Rajasthan, the 29-year-old Moondra started playing cricket at a young age, initially training as a fast bowler at a local academy. He switched into a top-order batter and left-arm spinner in his teenage years, but his cricketing ambitions were put on hold as he chose to prioritise his education.
He completed a B.Tech in Electronics and Communication Engineering at SRM Institute of Science and Technology in Chennai, where he continued playing cricket, initially bowling medium pace with a tennis ball before returning to leather-ball cricket. As his pace increased, he rediscovered his passion for fast bowling and began considering a return to the sport.
After graduating in 2019, Moondra found himself at a crossroads. Believing that a full-time corporate career would effectively end his cricketing aspirations, he decided to give the sport one final opportunity instead. When things did not work out, he moved to Ireland to pursue an M.Sc. in Electronics and Communications Engineering at Technological University Dublin in 2021. However, he continued playing cricket, with the turning point coming when he joined Leinster Cricket Club in Dublin.
Moondra established himself in Ireland's domestic circuit and was part of the side that won the Irish Senior Cup in 2023, one of the country's premier club competitions.
He made his professional debut in 2024 for Leinster in the Cricket Ireland Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy, picking up three wickets in the only game he played. Moondra made his List A debut a year later, and then turned out in one first-class game earlier this season, where he scored an unbeaten 46 from No.10.
In this season’s Inter-Provincial T20 Trophy, Moondra picked up seven wickets at 14.57 - the competition’s highest wicket-taker, with his performances earning him the attention of the national selectors. And with Ireland missing five quicks to respective injuries, he was handed his international debut against India, along with fellow quick Matt Hollard.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Moondra was working as a product development engineer in Ireland till June 2025, following which he has turned to cricket.
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