Pakistan appoints Azhar Mahmood head coach for NZ series

Pakistan on Monday appointed former all rounder Azhar Mahmood as head coach of the national men's team for a five-match Twenty20 international series against New Zealand.

"Mahmood has been named as the head coach of the Pakistan cricket team for the upcoming series against New Zealand," said a PCB release.

The matches will be played in Rawalpindi (April 18, 20 and 21) and Lahore (April 25 and 27).

Mahmood represented Pakistan in 164 internationals, taking 162 wickets and scoring 2,421 runs. He  was  the bowling coach from 2016-19.

Former paceman Wahab Riaz has been appointed as the senior team manager, while former captain Mohammad Yousuf will be the batting coach and Saeed Ajmal the spin-bowling coach.

Pakistan had a major shake-up after last year's fify-over World Cup in India with head coach Mickey Arthur replaced and Babar Azam stepping down as captain of all three formats.

At first, Shaheen Shah Afridi was appointed white-ball captain, Shan Masood Test skipper and Mohammad Hafeez  team director.

But after Mohsin Naqvi was elected as PCB chairman he restructured the selection panel and reappointed Azam as white-ball captain.

Pakistan will also play three Twenty20 internationals in Ireland and four in England before heading to the Twenty20 World Cup in the United States and the West Indies.