Islamabad
\nThe Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced that it has appointed former all-rounder Azhar Mahmood as the acting red-ball head coach of the Pakistan Men\u2019s team.
\nMahmood will serve in this role until the conclusion of his current contract in April 2026. During this period, Pakistan is scheduled to play two Test series.
\n\u201cA seasoned cricketing mind, [Azhar] Mahmood steps into the role with an impressive portfolio of experience. Having served as the assistant head coach of the national side, Azhar has long been a pivotal part of the team\u2019s strategic core,\u201d the PCB said in a press release highlighting Mahmood\u2019s extensive coaching and playing experience.
\n\u201cHis deep knowledge of the game, combined with hands-on international exposure and proven success in the English county circuit, makes him exceptionally well-suited for this position.\u201d
\nThe PCB further noted the former cricketer\u2019s in-depth understanding of the game, along with his international experience and proven track record in English-county cricket.
\n\u201cHis red-ball pedigree is underscored by two County Championship title \u2014 an achievement that speaks volumes about his leadership, tactical acumen, and unwavering commitment to excellence,\u201d the statement added.
\nThe PCB has expressed confidence in Mahmood\u2019s ability to lead the red-ball side, stating that under his guidance, the team is expected to grow in strength, discipline, and performance on the global stage.
\nThe 50-year-old signed a two-year contract with the PCB in April 2024 and had previously served as assistant coach.
\nHowever, he was excluded from the coaching staff for the recent home T20I series against Bangladesh in May, which Pakistan won 3-0, following the appointment of Mike Hesson as the white-ball head coach.
\nSources indicate that Hesson, who has ties with Islamabad United, was reportedly looking to bring members of the franchise\u2019s coaching staff into the national setup \u2014 prompting the PCB to temporarily sideline Mahmood.
\nIt is pertinent to mention that under Mahmood\u2019s coaching, Pakistan will begin their ICC World Test Championship (WTC) 2025\u201327 campaign with a two-match Test series against South Africa in October-November.
\nThe national team will then tour Bangladesh for another two-match Test series as part of their WTC campaign in March-April 2026. For the unversed, former Australian all-rounder Jason Gillespie was appointed as Pakistan\u2019s red-ball head coach on April 28, 2024.
\nAfter a 2-0 home loss to Bangladesh and a 2-1 win over England, he resigned citing PCB communication issues.
\nFormer fast bowler and 1992 ICC Men\u2019s Cricket World Cup winner Aaqib Javed took over the role following Gillespie\u2019s resignation.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Islamabad The Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB) on Monday announced that it has appointed former all-rounder Azhar Mahmood as the acting red-ball head coach of the Pakistan Men\u2019s team. Mahmood will serve in this role until the conclusion of his current contract in April 2026. During this period, Pakistan is scheduled to play two Test series. …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":83054,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-83046","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83046","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=83046"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83046\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":83062,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/83046\/revisions\/83062"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/83054"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=83046"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=83046"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=83046"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}