Azhar Mahmood joins England coaching staff for Pakistan T20Is

Former Pakistan all-rounder Azhar Mahmood will join the England coaching staff for the upcoming three-match Twenty20 International (T20I) series against Pakistan.

Mahmood will assist England bowling coach, Jon Lewis, during the series.

England national selectors have named a 14-strong squad for the T20I series against Pakistan, starting on Friday, August 28 at Emirates Old Trafford. The three-match series will be played behind closed doors, in a bio-secure environment at the Manchester venue.

Squad:

Eoin Morgan (Middlesex) (captain), Moeen Ali (Worcestershire), Jonathan Bairstow (Yorkshire), Tom Banton (Somerset), Sam Billings (Kent), Tom Curran (Surrey), Joe Denly (Kent), Lewis Gregory (Somerset), Chris Jordan (Sussex), Saqib Mahmood (Lancashire), Dawid Malan (Yorkshire), Adil Rashid (Yorkshire), Jason Roy (Surrey), David Willey (Yorkshire).

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Reserves:

Pat Brown (Worcestershire), Liam Livingstone (Lancashire), Reece Topley (Surrey).

“In this crowded international summer, players who are currently in the Test match bio-secure bubble for the Pakistan Test series are not included in this squad. (The T20Is begin three days after the scheduled last day of the final Test). We want to give multi-format players some opportunity to rest and refresh, while still selecting strong squads for every series. We will announce the squad for the Australia T20 series at a later date,” said National Selector, Ed Smith, while commenting on the selection of the squad.

England assistant coach Graham Thorpe will assume the head coach role for the three-match series. He will be supported by assistant coach Paul Collingwood. Marcus Trescothick, who has been seconded from Somerset, has been appointed batting coach. Former Essex wicketkeeper James Foster will take responsibility for the wicketkeepers.