After Jason Gillispie resigned from the coaching position of the Pakistan cricket team, Azhar Mahmood has taken over as the head coach for Pakistan in the longest format of the game. Pakistan ended up at the last spot in the WTC 2023-25 cycle with just 5 victories in 14 matches. Since 2019, Pakistan has changed 10 coaches, which depicts the uncertainties over the position. Azhar Mahmood, a former Pakistan cricketer and now a British citizen, will coach the team for Test matches. He will remain coach until his current tenure expires, which is till April next year.
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🚨 OFFICIAL – AZHAR MAHMOOD: The New Interim Red-ball Head Coach of Pakistan. 🚨#PakistanCricket #PakistanCricketBoard pic.twitter.com/mGoBSkpBke
— Shah Jahan 56 (@ShahJahanba56) June 30, 2025
“Azhar, who has served as assistant coach of the national team, has been an important part of the team’s strategic structure for a long time. His deep understanding of the game, direct experience at the international level and proven success in the English county circuit make him extremely suitable for this role. His Test cricket background is strengthened by two County Championship titles, which reflect his leadership, strategic skills and unwavering dedication to excellence.” PCB said in a statement.
Mahmood IPL Stint
Mahmood has been featured in IPL in the year 2012-13 for the Punjab Kings, formerly Kings XI Punjab, and in 2015 for the Kolkata Knight Riders. He has played a total of 23 matches in the Indian Premier League, and his performance has been disappointing in his Indian franchise stint. In all his 23 appearances, he managed to score just 388 runs while clinching only 29 wickets. Fifty-year-old Mahmood played 21 Tests and 143 ODIs for Pakistan between 1996 and 2007. In which he scored 900 runs and 39 wickets, and 1521 runs and 123 wickets respectively. He has three centuries and four half-centuries to his name in international cricket.
Coaching Career
Azhar Mahmood has vast coaching experience. He served as the Pakistan national team’s bowling coach from 2016 to 2019. In 2023, he was also made the interim head coach of the Pakistan team for the T20 series against New Zealand. Besides this, he has also worked as a bowling coach for franchises such as Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). He has also served as head coach of Islamabad United.
