Pakistan, Ireland, and England to be coached by Azar Mahmood until Kirsten arrives

Former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood will be the head coach for the Ireland and England tour, assisted by Saeed Ajmal and Muhammad Yousuf as spin and batting coaches, respectively. Gary Kirsten will take over as head coach later, with the support staff also including Wahab Riaz and Cliff Deacon among others.

Former Pakistan Test all-rounder Azhar Mahmood will be the head coach of the national team on its tour of Ireland and England this month until new white ball head coach Gary Kirsten takes over the side. Kirsten, who has been roped in on a two-year contract by the Pakistan Cricket Board, is not sure when he will be able to take charge of the team this month as he is busy with the Gujarat Titans franchise in the ongoing IPL.

A PCB official said that if GT doesn't qualify for the IPL play-offs then Kirsten would be available from the start of the T20 series against England.

Until Kirsten joins, Mahmood, who has been named as the assistant coach to the South African and the red ball head coach Jason Gillispie will be acting as head coach.

The board has also named former Test batsman Muhammad Yousuf as the batting coach of the team and Saeed Ajmal as the spin bowling coach.

Pakistan squad support staff: Wahab Riaz (Senior Team Manager), Mansoor Rana (Team Manager), Azhar Mahmood (Head Coach for Ireland and Assistant Coach for England after inclusion in Gary Kirsten's team), Mohammad Yousuf (Batting Coach), Aftab Khan (Fielding Coach), Cliff Deacon (Physiotherapist), Irtiza Komail (Chief Security Officer), Mohammad Imran (Masseur), Mohammad Khurram Suroor (Team Doctor), Talha Butt (Analyst), Raza Kitchlew (Media and Digital Manager), and Drikus Saiman (Strength and Conditioning Coach).

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