Azhar Mahmood leaves Surrey to take up Pakistan coaching role

Initially, the former Pakistan allrounder will be heading up his country's coaching team for the T20I series against New Zealand

Azhar Mahmood has left his role at Surrey after being installed as Pakistan's interim head coach for their upcoming T20I series against New Zealand.

Azhar, the former allrounder, has been a popular and influential figure on Surrey's coaching staff since returning to the county where he played in 2022.

As an assistant coach to Gareth Batty, he won back-to-back County Championship titles, with Gus Atkinson and Jamie Overton both making England debuts in his tenure. During a recent interview with The Cricketer, Tom Lawes raved of Azhar's impact on his own game.

"This is a great opportunity for Azhar to work for his country and whilst we are very sorry to see him leave, we understand and respect the decision he has made," said Alec Stewart, Surrey's director of cricket.

"Azhar has had a big impact on the players in this team and we will continue to see the players benefit from the support he has given them. He will be greatly missed but he goes with the best wishes of everyone at the club."

Related: Alec Stewart: "We've got to make sure that county cricket stays strong and very relevant"

^{Azhar Mahmood won back-to-back titles with Surrey (Image: Surrey CCC)}

Surrey are not opting to replace him immediately, with Jade Dernbach already on the staff and set to take over his duties.

Azhar has previously acted as a bowling coach with Pakistan, as well as working in the Pakistan Super League.

He admitted that his departure was "a difficult decision to take" but described the opportunity to work for Pakistan again as "too good to turn down".

Wahab Riaz has been appointed as the senior team manager, while Mohammad Yousuf will be the batting coach. Saeed Ajmal is the spin-bowling coach for the series, which sees a maiden call-up for PSL stars Usman Khan and Mohammad Irfan Khan. Imad Wasim and Mohammad Amir have both been recalled after reversing international retirements, while Babar Azam is back as captain, replacing Shaheen Shah Afridi.

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