Former Chennai Super Kings and Delhi Daredevils bowler Yo Mahesh has been appointed as Tamil Nadu’s head coach ahead of the 2026-27 domestic season.
Mahesh is familiar with the Tamil Nadu setup, having previously been in charge of their U19 squad. Last season, he guided the team to the semi-final of the Cooch Behar Trophy, where they lost to eventual champions Madhya Pradesh. Getting the main coaching role at the age of 38, Mahesh is one of the youngest in the domestic circuit, which could help the Tamilian outfit as he will be familiar with a host of players, particularly the seniors.
Tamil Nadu are in desperate need of some stability following a disappointing domestic campaign last time around, where they failed to reach the knockout stages in each of the three tournaments. Mahesh will now be their fifth head coach in the last four seasons across all formats.
Mahesh spoke about the direction in which he wishes to lead Tamil Nadu going forward, aligning with the modern way of playing cricket. He acknowledged the quality in the squad and believes he can achieve greater heights even if it takes a while.
“We need to start building a culture within the TN senior team where players are made to feel secure. There has to be proper role definition. Our attitude cannot be soft anymore, and we must be ready to turn up for a fight. It is important to make the players realise that cricket is being played in a certain way. We are highly talented and skilled, but maybe we should try this direction. It is not going to happen overnight, but getting them to buy into that is where I come in. That is my challenge,” Yo Mahesh said via The Hindu.
Mahesh will now join the backroom team, which already consists of assistant coaches R. Srinivasan (multi-day) and J. Hariesh (white-ball). V. Maaruthi Raghav, meanwhile, is the new U19 head coach for Tamil Nadu.
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Author: vatsal_divyesh
