Azhar Mahmood (; born 28 February 1975) is a Pakistani cricket coach and former

cricket Cricket is a Bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball game played between two Sports team, teams of eleven players on a cricket field, field, at the centre of which is a cricket pitch, pitch with a wicket at each end, each comprising two Bail (cr ...

er. He was the bowling coach of the Pakistani national cricket team from 2016 to 2019. He was a part of the Pakistan squad which finished as runners-up at the

1999 Cricket World Cup The 1999 ICC Cricket World Cup, also branded as England '99, was the seventh edition of the Cricket World Cup, organised by the International Cricket Council (ICC). It was hosted primarily by England, with selected matches also played in Wales, ...

. Previously, he played Tests and ODIs for

Pakistan national cricket team The Pakistan men's national cricket team represents Pakistan in international cricket. It is controlled by the Pakistan Cricket Board (PCB), the governing body for cricket in Pakistan, which is a Full Member of the International Cricket Counc ...

and county cricket in

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Azhar is a dual

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories and Crown Dependencies. * British national identity, the characteristics of British people and culture ...

citizen.

Personal life

Azhar Mahmood's wedding ceremony was held in 2003.

Domestic career

As a teenager, Azhar was mentored by Irfan Bhatti who played a

One Day International One Day International (ODI) is a format of cricket, played between two teams with international status, in which each team faces a fixed number of fifty overs, with the game lasting up to 7 hours. The World Cup, generally held every four yea ...

for

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

in the early 1990s. Originally his father objected to his interest in

, but later started to appreciate it seeing his accomplishments. When not doing net practice, Azhar would fancy himself playing

tape ball A tape ball is a tennis ball wrapped in electrical tape that is often used in informal games of cricket such as street cricket, also called tape ball cricket. First pioneered in Karachi, Pakistan, the tape ball acts as an improvised cricket bal ...

cricket on the cemented pitch in the cricket ground in front of his home. He played

county cricket Inter-county cricket matches have been played since the early 18th century, involving teams that are representative of the historic counties of England and Wales. Two county championship competitions have existed since the late 19th century at ...

for

Surrey Surrey () is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Greater London to the northeast, Kent to the east, East Sussex, East and West Sussex to the south, and Hampshire and Berkshire to the wes ...

and in November 2007 signed a two-year deal to play for

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

. Azhar became a

British citizen The primary law governing nationality in the United Kingdom is the British Nationality Act 1981, which came into force on 1 January 1983. Regulations apply to the British Islands, which include the UK itself (England, Wales, Scotland, and Nor ...

in 2011. This allowed him to play for Kent as an English-qualified player, further distancing himself from a recall to the Pakistan side. It was announced that Azhar would be playing for the Auckland Aces as one of their overseas professionals in the 2011/12 season. In the 2012 IPL auction, Mahmood was sold to Kings XI Punjab for $200,000, double his base price of $100,000. In 2015, he was signed by KKR as replacement for James Neesham and played a few matches but was dropped from the squad the very next season. He along with Isuru Udana set the highest 8th wicket partnership in all forms of T20s (120) during the inaugural SLPL league in 2012.

International career

Early days

Azhar made his One-Day International debut against

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

in 1996 at Toronto Cricket Club,

Toronto Toronto ( , locally pronounced or ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, most populous city in Canada. It is the capital city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Ontario. With a p ...

, but did not gain major recognition until his

Test Test(s), testing, or TEST may refer to: * Test (assessment), an educational assessment intended to measure the respondents' knowledge or other abilities Arts and entertainment * ''Test'' (2013 film), an American film * ''Test'' (2014 film) ...

debut against

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

the following year at

Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium Rawalpindi Cricket Stadium is a cricket stadium located in Rawalpindi, Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab province of Pakistan. It is located close to Pir Meher Ali Shah University and Rawalpindi Arts Council and has an estimated capacity of 18,000. The f ...

Rawalpindi Rawalpindi is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, third-largest city in the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is a commercial and industrial hub, being the list of cities in P ...

when he hit a century and a half-century without being dismissed. He later went on to score two more centuries against the South Africans. He joined the Pakistani team primarily as a medium pacer but he has surprised many by his batting powers. His hard hitting but orthodox batting skills have also been extremely useful in the one-day game. Unlike most Pakistani pacers who are swing bowlers, he is a useful English-style seam bowler, who can chip in with wickets in time of need. In 2000, Lt-General Tauqir Zia, then the PCB chairman, said that the board would choose the next captain – not based on seniority alone – and if people find the choice unacceptable they will not be selected. Later – in front of some senior players – he told Azhar Mahmood that he will be the next Pakistan captain. Together they would plan the future strategy. But this never came to pass.

Comeback

He was recalled to the national side for the ODI series against South Africa in early 2007, but subsequently dropped when the

2007 Cricket World Cup The 2007 ICC Cricket World Cup was the ninth Cricket World Cup, a One Day International (ODI) cricket tournament that took place in the West Indies from 13 March to 28 April 2007. There were a total of 51 matches played, three fewer than at the 2 ...

team was announced. He was however recalled to go with the squad to the West Indies after a knee injury to Abdul Razzaq. It was Mahmood's 3rd World Cup. However, aside from playing in a practice match, Azhar did not get a chance to participate in the World Cup and

's early exit from the tournament meant that he was once again, in line for being axed from the national squad. Following his exclusion, Azhar returned to playing county cricket in UK. Over the years, due to his constant exclusion from the Pakistani squad and the fact that he has crossed the 30-year-old mark, it seems that Mahmood is not as interested in returning to the Pakistani line up as he once was. His weight gain, mediocre performances in ODIs, combined with the tough competition for the all rounder slot in the Pakistani line up meant that his chances for making a return to the national squad were very limited. He has previously signed with the defunct

Indian Cricket League The Indian Cricket League (ICL) was a short-lived cricket league that ran from 2007 to 2009. It was sponsored by Zee Entertainment Enterprises, a media company. The ICL had two seasons, featuring four international teams and nine domestic teams ...

(ICL) and had been released from his central contract.

Trivia

Wisden ''Wisden Cricketers' Almanack'', or simply ''Wisden'', colloquially the Bible of Cricket, is a cricket reference book published annually in the United Kingdom. The description "Bible of cricket" (or variations thereof) has been applied to ''Wi ...

'' in 2001 included Azhar Mahmood's innings of 132 for

against

Kingsmead Cricket Ground Kingsmead is a Cricket field, cricket ground in Durban, KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa. Its stated capacity is 25,000, although grass terracing makes up part of the viewing area. The 'end names' are the Umgeni End (north) and the Old Fort Road End ...

Durban Durban ( ; , from meaning "bay, lagoon") is the third-most populous city in South Africa, after Johannesburg and Cape Town, and the largest city in the Provinces of South Africa, province of KwaZulu-Natal. Situated on the east coast of South ...

in 1997–98 as the 8th best Test Innings of All Time in its list of Wisden 100. It mentioned – "South Africa's pace attack had more depth than at any other time in their history: Allan Donald and

Shaun Pollock Shaun Maclean Pollock (born 16 July 1973) is a South African cricket commentator and former cricketer, who was captain in all formats of the game. A bowling all-rounder, Pollock along with Allan Donald formed a bowling partnership for many year ...

supported by Fanie de Villiers and

Lance Klusener Lance Klusener (born 4 September 1971) is an international cricket coach and former cricketer of South Africa. He was known for his aggressive batting and fast-medium swing bowling. Klusener was one of the best all-rounders in the world during ...

. No surprise that Pakistan were put in to bat on a treacherous pitch – or that they should be reduced to 89 for 5. Salvation came in the form of a 22-year-old allrounder who seemed to be batting too low at No.7: his century was already his third in six Test innings against South Africa. Tucking into a great pace bowler like Donald, he scored 96 runs in boundaries while proving himself an expert shepherd of a tail: he made 90% of Pakistan's last 106 runs. They went on to win a low-scoring match by 29."

Coaching career

In November 2016, Mahmood was appointed bowling coach of the Pakistan side. Earlier the same year, he had served two short stints in a similar capacity, also for the national team. He left the role in August 2019 when his contract was not extended. Mahmood also served as the bowling coach of two PSL Franchises Karachi Kings &

Multan Sultans Multan Sultans is a Pakistani professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team representing Multan, a city in southern Punjab, in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The team was founded in 2017 as an additional sixth team added to the PSL with contra ...

. On 3 December 2021, Mahmood has appointed by

Islamabad United Islamabad United () is a Pakistani professional Twenty20 franchise cricket team that competes in the Pakistan Super League (PSL). The team is based in Islamabad, the capital city of Pakistan, and was formed in 2015 to compete in the first ...

as the head coach for their 7th season of PSL. Ahead of the 2024 season, Mahmood left his role as head coach and was appointed Islamabad's bowling coach. On 9 April 2024, Mahmood was appointed Pakistan's head coach for their series against New Zealand.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mahmood, Azhar 1975 births Living people British people of Punjabi descent Pakistani cricketers Pakistan One Day International cricketers Pakistan Test cricketers Kent cricketers Surrey cricketers Rawalpindi cricketers Auckland cricketers Barbados Royals cricketers Fortune Barishal cricketers Cricketers at the 1999 Cricket World Cup Cricketers at the 2003 Cricket World Cup Cricketers from Rawalpindi Cricketers who made a century on Test debut Cape Cobras cricketers Dhaka Dominators cricketers Pakistani expatriate cricketers in Bangladesh English cricketers English cricket coaches Habib Bank Limited cricketers ICL Pakistan XI cricketers Islamabad cricketers Islamabad Leopards cricketers Islamabad United cricketers Kolkata Knight Riders cricketers Lahore Badshahs cricketers Marylebone Cricket Club cricketers Naturalised citizens of the United Kingdom Pakistan International Airlines cricketers Pakistani cricket coaches Pakistani emigrants to the United Kingdom Punjab Kings cricketers Pakistani expatriate cricketers in India Sydney Thunder cricketers Pakistani expatriate cricketers in Australia United Bank Limited cricketers Wayamba United cricketers Pakistani expatriate cricketers in Sri Lanka