On 26 November 2008, Mahmood was drafted into England's squad for the last two ODI matches against India in their seven match tour. He and bowler Amjad Khan were called up as replacements for the injured Stuart Broad and Andrew Flintoff. Mahmood and Khan were in Bangalore with England's Performance Programme Squad. The final two ODIs were cancelled after the November 2008 Mumbai attacks and the England squad returned home due to safety concerns. Mahmood was part of the England Lions for the winter tour of New Zealand. While Khan debuted for England over the winter, Mahmood did not feature in any matches for the full England side. Despite this, he was selected in England's 25-man performance squad, and was identified by national selector Geoff Miller as being close to playing for England. Although he was part of England's 30-man preliminary squad for the 2009 ICC World Twenty20, he did not make the final squad of 15.