Islamabad United have roped in their former player Azhar Mahmood as the head coach for the next season of the Pakistan Super League. Mahmood replaces South Africa's Johan Botha. Mahmood, a T20 veteran, was previously associated with Karachi Kings and Multan Sultans as part of the coaching staff. He was also part of Islamabad United’s title-winning squad in the first edition of the PSL. Recently, he was brought in as a consultant for the England national team in the summer of 2021, following his stint as the bowling coach of the Oval Invincibles in the Hundred. "I was part of Islamabad United's title winning team in PSL 1," Mahmood said. "The franchise and the twin cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi are quite close to my heart as my hometowns. United have always paved the way and provided a platform for emerging players, from Shadab to Asif to most recently Wasim, all started their careers here. It is not only a great platform for grooming local players but coaches too."
"Saeed Ajmal is such an example and I look forward to working with him this year now that I take a new path in my career as the Head Coach of Islamabad United. I am obviously familiar with most of the guys there. It was an absolute pleasure to be the bowling coach of Hassan, Shadab, Faheem and co in my stint as Pakistan's bowling coach. "Together we became the number 1 T20 team in the world for an extended period of time. I have played franchise cricket all over the world and I look forward to sharing my experience with the guys at Islamabad United," he added. Mahmood becomes the fourth head coach of the franchise that has won two titles - in 2016 and 2019 - so far, after Dean Jones, Misbah-Ul-Haq and Botha.
Ali Naqvi, the Owner of Islamabad United, said, “Mahmood was with us back in 2016 and his subsequent success as a bowling coach is not a surprise to anyone who interacted with him then.” “Mahmood provides the progressive understanding of T20 cricket that we pride ourselves on, and we are confident that he will do his utmost in achieving our shared goals,” he added. PSL as a T20 league has emerged as one of the best T20 leagues in the world with participation by several high profile cricketers. The six-team tournament has seen Islamabad United win the title on two occasions, the most by any side. Babar Azam has been the most successfully batter in the history of the league, he has scored the most number of runs in PSL history (2070). Peshawar Zalmi’s Wahab Riaz has been the most successful bowler in the history of this league. He is the leading wicket-taker in the history of PSL with 94 wickets.
