Is Jai Moondra eligible to play in IPL after heroics against India?
Jai Moondra won Player of the Series in IRE vs IND T20I series.
The Indian Cricket Team clashed with Ireland in two T20I matches recently at the Civil Services Club in Belfast. In what was expected to be a one-sided affair for India, turned into a horrible campaign as Shreyas Iyer-led side suffered a 2-0 whitewash.
One of the major reasons behind Ireland’s success in the series was left-arm pacer Jai Moondra. The speedster came up with a spectacular performance to help Ireland register their first-ever T20I series victory against India.
India, who opted to field first, gave a big blow to Ireland at the start, dismissing both of their openers cheaply. However, Harry Tector (53) came up with a fabulous half-century to bail his team out of trouble.
Benjamin Calitz added 37 runs as well as Ireland posted 154/8. Debutant Prince Yadav clinched a three-wicket haul, while Arshdeep Singh and Shivam Dube bagged two scalps each.
In the chase, Sanju Samson and Abhishek Sharma got out for ducks, which broke the backbone of Indian batting order. Left-arm pacer Jai Moondra was the architect behind this as a India came under pressure right from the start.
Moondra also bagged the big wicket of captain Shreyas Iyer, clinching three wickets in his four-over spell. India eventually failed to chase the 155-run target, falling just one run short of victory.
Moondra was awarded Player of the Match for his bowling heroics. For clinching five wickets at an average of 11.40 across two games, he was also adjudged Player of the Series.
Notably, the 29-year-old is an Indian origin player, and following his fabulous show against India, his entry into the Indian Premier League (IPL) has become a hot topic of discussion.
Is Jai Moondra eligible to participate in Indian Premier League?
Yes, Moondra can play in the IPL. He holds an Indian passport, but since he has played for Ireland in international cricket, he will have to register himself as an overseas player.
He can register himself in the next year’s IPL auction and if he is shortlisted in the final list of the Board of Control for Cricket in India (BCCI), his name will pop up in the auction.
For that to happen, the 10 IPL franchises should show interest in the left-arm pacer first and revert to BCCI about the same.
BCCI sends the list of players who submit their name in the auction to IPL franchises and they send back a list of interested players.
Only these players are part of the auction. Every year, more than 1000 players apply for the IPL auction; however, only a few hundred are part of the final list.
Interestingly, Moondra was born in Tonk City, Rajasthan. He made his international debut in the 1st T20I against India in Belfast on June 26.
In Ireland’s domestic circuit, he plays for the Leinster Cricket Team. He has only played a handful of games in the domestic circuit so far. In six games in List A Cricket, he has clinched 11 wickets at an average of 21.45. He has played only one first-class game so far.
Is Jai Moondra eligible to play in IPL?
Yes, he is eligible to play in the IPL.
Who won Player of the Series award in IND vs IRE T20Is?
Jai Moondra won the Player of the Series award in the IND vs IRE T20Is.
For more updates, follow Khel Now Cricket on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Youtube; download the Khel Now Android App or IOS App and join our community on Whatsapp & Telegram.
Vikas Singh Derek is a core cricket-lover since childhood and has always followed the sport both in his personal and professional life. He started his school life by watching cricket at home with family. Later, he played cricket on the field at local clubs during college. After his Master's in Journalism from Mumbai, he followed his passion by covering cricket news across various digital media. Since 2015, he has been an aspiring sports journalist and cricket content writer with over 50K+ articles.