Yo Mahesh appointed Tamil Nadu men’s head coach

After months of deliberation, former Tamil Nadu and India under-19 player V. Yo Mahesh has been appointed as the head coach of the TN senior men’s team for the 2026-27 season.

He is the fifth coach in four years (includes both red ball and white ball) to be given charge of the team. The former all-rounder has a tough task ahead of him after TN failed to progress to the knockouts in the three domestic tournaments last year.

He was at the helm of the TN u-19 team in the previous season, guiding the side to the Cooch Behar Trophy semifinals, where it fell just two runs short against Madhya Pradesh. At 38, Yo Mahesh is one of the youngest to be handed the top job, and he felt that the familiarity with some of the senior players will help him get the best out of them.

“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,” said Yo Mahesh. He stressed that building a pool of fast bowlers will be a key focus area, but insisted that they need to be given good pitches to develop.

While the senior side has struggled, TN has won titles in the u-23 and u-19 levels in the last two years, and Yo Mahesh emphasised on the importance of nurturing the talent coming through.

Commenting on the changes needed, he called for a shift in attitude to keep pace with the demands of modern-day cricket. “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,” said Yo Mahesh.

The list:

Men: Senior: Head coach: V. Yo Mahesh; assistant coach: R. Srinivasan (multi-day) and J. Hariesh (white ball).

Under-23: Head coach: V.R.S. Guru Kedarnath; assistant coach: C.S. Santhosh. U-19: Head coach: V. Maaruthi Raghav; assistant coach: R. Tarun. U-16: Head coach: S. Dinesh; assistant coach: Ashwin Venkataraman. U-14: Head coach: T.R. Madhavan; assistant coach: B. Rahul.

Women: Senior: Head coach: Aarthi Sankaran; assistant coach: N. Niranjana.

U-23: Head coach: V. Bobby Gulecha; assistant coach: M.D. Sugaragamini; U-19: Head coach: S. Ashok Anand; assistant coach: D. Kaavya; U-15: Head coach: Nilofer Firdhouse; assistant coach: S. Gayathri.

State women’s senior selection committee: Chairperson: K. Hemamalini; members: S. Lissy, E.R. Meenakshi, C.K. Jayalekshumi. Junior selection committee: Chairperson: N. Manjhulaa; members: V. Vilasini, S. Sharadha, P.N. Porchilai.