Azhar Mahmood has been appointed as the interim head coach of the Pakistan men’s senior national team. Here’s what to expect from him, in the words of Mark Butcher, former England batter and Mahmood’s former Surrey teammate.
Mahmood, who played international cricket for Pakistan from 1996 to 2007, has been named as the interim head coach for their upcoming five-match T20I series against New Zealand.
The all-rounder left his job as an assistant coach of Surrey to take up this new role with the Pakistan national team. Mahmood is a respected coach who has previously been involved with Pakistan and has worked in T20 leagues around the globe as well. Under his guidance, Surrey won two back-to-back County Championships.
Butcher, who has played alongside Mahmood for Surrey, detailed the qualities that make him an ideal candidate for the Pakistan role. Speaking on the Wisden Cricket Weekly podcast, Butcher spoke highly of Mahmood’s work ethic and knowledge about fast bowling.
“He’s an absolute warrior,” Butcher said. “He still runs in and bowls full tilt. He’s in his late-forties. He’s still fit as a fiddle. Still runs in and gives the keepers practice, fizzing it through.
“He’s got enormous amounts of knowledge in terms of seam and swing bowling, whether it be reverse or normal. He’s the kind of guy that you absolutely love to have in your dressing room. He doesn’t believe there’s such a thing as a lost cause and I think he’s a much, much smarter guy than people have ever given him credit for in his coaching time, in terms of the way he reads the game.
“So, Surrey’s loss will be very much Pakistan’s gain and he’s a really good pick for them. A really, really good one.”
On whether Mahmood could inspire a sense of calm amidst the chaos that Pakistan cricket is in currently, Butcher said that he definitely could and that he’s the sort of personality who players could easily approach.
“He certainly would be [a source of calm and common sense in the Pakistan dressing room]. He’d certainly have that point of view and he’d certainly be someone that the players would be very keen to have one-on-on chats with.
“Whether or not he holds the sort of power to be able to change the overall picture is a different thing. But I think Azhar as an individual is incredibly good at understanding the bowling action for a start. And he’s also very very good at inspiring and getting in the heads of the players that he is working with.
“And that is the job that he’s been asked to do, and he will do that incredibly well. Should they ask him to do anything higher up than that, then all bets are off.”
Mahmood will be accompanied by Mohammad Yousuf as the batting coach and Saeed Ajmal as the bowling coach for the New Zealand series, while former left-arm seamer Wahab Riaz will be with the team as the manager. The series starts on April 18.
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